‘Abuse’ of Bristol man with Alzheimer’s is caught on spy camera

CARERS have been accused of “neglect and abuse” of an 85-year-old man with Alzheimer’s, after his family used secret cameras to film their “shocking” behaviour.

Carol-Anne Norman was concerned about the way her vulnerable father was being cared for by Avon Home Carers, a service part-funded by Bristol City Council. So they set up hidden cameras in his home, recording what they have described as “distressing footage”.

​Carol-Anne Norman says the footage from the hidden camera shows a carer running water over the toothbrush and sponge, before wiping a towel around the sink and sprinkling talcum powder around the room, as if to make it look as though her duties had been carried out – as claimed in the note, below

Another piece of film shows him walking into the bathroom and attempting to wash himself but there is no sign of his carer helping him.

Instead the footage shows the carer running water over the toothbrush and sponge, before wiping a towel around the sink and sprinkling talcum powder around the room, as if to make it look as though her duties had been carried out.

The staff were paid for by the man’s family and city council social services department, because he cannot look after himself and his 85-year-old wife is not well enough to care for him.

Avon Home Carers and the city council have confirmed that an investigation is being carried out.

This comes just three months after secret filming exposed shocking behaviour at the Winterbourne View care home in Hambrook.

Ms Norman, of Avonmouth, and her sister decided to install cameras at their father’s home after they were notified of an incident where he was said to have been aggressive.

The hairdresser said: “My sister was called out to the house and found him naked on my mother’s bed.

“The care boss had come down and the carer said dad had held her in a grip and tried to kick her, but the footage we later filmed shows he can barely lift his leg to put a sock on.

“My sister thinks he wanted to go to the toilet and that was why he was agitated. The carer had been shaving him while he was naked and he wanted to go to the loo.”

Footage from August and September shows another carer taking Ms Norman’s father into the bathroom for a wash.

But rather than the required full body wash she does not appear to touch his upper body and sprays deodorant through his vest.

The footage also suggests differences to the records staff were making and what they actually did.

In the records of her visit one carer’s account states that she has given him a full body wash, applied talcum powder and cleaned his teeth.

But the footage captured by hidden cameras shows that all she seems to have washed is his sponge and toothbrush and powdered the floor in an apparent attempt to make it look as if she had completed her duties.

Concerns came to a head after filming from the end of September and a complaint was made to the company and social services.

Ms Norman, 49, said: “That was the last straw. My father had an accident and there was faeces on the end of his bed and she said he had trodden in it but she dressed him and put his socks on but did not wash him.

“You can see that he was distressed. He went into the bathroom knowing that he needed a wash and she ignored him. She was going backwards and forwards with a flannel to clean the carpet.

“That is when I called her boss. This person was supposed to be taking care of my father but I think this is neglect and abuse.

“They are the carers that Bristol City Council uses but they do not seem very caring to me.

“There was only one carer we filmed that was good and provided the care we expected.”

Managing director of Avon Home Carers Andreas Henken said an investigation was being carried out into Ms Norman’s complaint and he did not wish to speak specifically about the incidents.

He told the Evening Post that when carers go into people’s homes there is a copy of a plan explaining what duties are expected of them.

“We rely on honesty and a professional attitude of staff,” he said.

“We expect all our staff to work to standards and our policy and procedures. It is something we emphasise in our training. We expect staff to record what they have done and do what they have written.”

Bristol City Council spokeswoman Katharine de Lisle said the complaint was being investigated.

“All home care services are commissioned against a set of quality standards that they must meet and service users have an individual care plan that home care workers are expected to deliver,” she said.

“We take very seriously any allegations that this is not being carried out in line with agreed standards.”