'Cruel' care workers who tortured residents' dementia dolls have been jailed

Two care workers, who posted video clips online of them torturing residents’ dementia dolls, have been jailed by a judge who called them ‘cruel’ for treating residents as ‘playthings’.

Shauna Higgin, 20, and Victoria Johnson, 23, admitted two counts of ill treatment of residents at Ashbourne House Nursing Home in Middleton, Manchester, last year.

Higgin from Middleton has been detained at a young offender institution for 13 months and Johnson, from Oldham, was jailed for 12 months. They were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.

In one piece of footage, Higgin is seen throwing a doll onto the floor and shouting ‘Die baby, die’.

The doll was also photographed being strung up by its neck, in a tumble dryer, being dragged along the corridor and floating in a fish tank.

A growing number of care homes use therapy dolls as they can alleviate distress or agitation in people with dementia. Care providers find that people, particularly women, can cuddle them and care for them as if they are real babies. Some care homes have found residents can get so attached to the dolls, they put them to sleep in their beds, while they sleep in a chair.

A whistleblower sent the video clips and photos to the Manchester Evening News and as soon as the home became aware of the footage, the two care workers were suspended and reported to the police.

In a statement issued by the home earlier this year, a spokesperson said: “We take this very, very seriously. People like this should not be working in the care industry.

“The welfare of our residents is our highest priority.”

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) put Ashbourne House Nursing Home into special measures in July this year.

Ashbourne House Nursing Home is based in Middleton and is registered to provide care and accommodation and nursing care for up to 29 older people. At the time of the inspection there were 16 people living at the home.

The unannounced inspection was to check on progress made to deal with concerns identified at the time of a previous inspection in February 2016.

During the latest inspection, CQC found the provider had not taken the necessary action and therefore continued to be in breach of the regulations.

Inspectors found people were not protected against the risk of abuse and the provider and registered manager had again failed to implement effective systems to monitor and improve the service.

Inspectors also found institutional practice in staff routines which involved getting people ready for bed in their night clothes early evening regardless of their wishes and poor personal care routines in that some people did not receive sufficient bathing or daily washing, or basic care such as teeth being cleaning, hair washed, and a daily shave. In addition CQC found that activities offering stimulation and variety to people's days were poor.

Debbie Westhead, deputy chief inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said at the time, “We are deeply concerned that despite a number of requirements for improvement made during our last inspection, these had not been acted upon, placing people at risk of harm, and continuing to let people down. This must not continue.

“We are now taking further action to protect people and we will report on this when the legal process is complete. In the meantime we will continue to work with Rochdale Council to ensure that people are safe and get the services they need.”