VULNERABLE people living in care “must be protected”, the Royal Court has ruled in jailing a former care worker who admitted slapping an elderly woman with dementia while putting her to bed.
Dora Vieira (43) appeared for a sentencing hearing eight months after the incident at the Lakeside Manor Care Home in St Peter, which involved a resident aged in her 90s who was left cowering and distressed by the ordeal.
Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, said Vieira and a colleague had been in the room of the victim, who had a tendency to be confused and slightly resistant, though not aggressive, when she was being put to bed.
The second carer said that she had heard – but not seen – a slap as they prepared the woman for bed, after which she had been told by Vieira that “I’m not waiting for her to punch me”.
The court heard that the victim had been left with bruising under her eye, but had not been able to speak about what had happened because of difficulties in communicating as a result of her dementia.
Advocate Sette said the victim had been distressed after the incident, while Vieira had sought to persuade her colleague not to reveal what had happened and to say that the bruising had already been in place before the duo had commenced their night shift.
The fellow employee subsequently reported the incident to management, with police officers attending the home the following day.
Vieira had initially told police that her conscience was clear and pleaded not guilty to a single charge of assault when she appeared in the Magistrate’s Court in May, the court was told, but had changed her plea to guilty at a further hearing two months later.
Advocate Sette said: “As a carer, she [Vieira] was specifically there to ensure and respect the welfare of the victim in the place where she was supposed to feel most safe.”
The court heard that the victim had died two months following a fall, but that this incident had been unconnected to the slapping incident.
Representing Vieira, Advocate Heidi Heath, defending, said that her client had worked at the home for eight years, during which time there had been no previous concerns regarding her work, adding that her employment had ceased following the incident in March and she had not worked since.
The court heard that Vieira deeply regretted what had happened, as well as the impact on the victim and her family.
Advocate Heath read a series of character references from former colleagues and friends, with Vieira described as compassionate, thoughtful and highly-regarded.
Both Advocates stated their view that a community service order would be an appropriate punishment, with Advocate Heath asserting that a custodial sentence would have a “devastating” effect on Vieira’s family.
But after retiring to consider sentence, Bailiff Robert MacRae, presiding, said the court rejected the arguments against imprisonment.
Delivering the court’s sentence, Mr MacRae said: “We have considered this matter with a great deal of care,” he said. “We have concluded that vulnerable people living in care must be protected by the courts, as they are unable to protect themselves.
“Those caring for such people must understand the consequences of breaching the trust placed in them by the vulnerable, their relatives and society as a whole.”
The Bailiff quoted a forensic specialist’s conclusion that the injury sustained had been caused by “blunt force trauma” consistent with having been slapped, describing a photograph of the victim shown to the panel as “shocking”.
Mr MacRae said the panel’s view was that an immediate custodial sentence was the only justifiable outcome, and ordered that Vieira be jailed for six months.
Members of the victim’s family were present for the hearing, including her granddaughter, who told the JEP afterwards: “We believed that a prison sentence was the right outcome in this case, so we are pleased with the court’s decision.”
Jurats Christensen and Berry were sitting.
