Nurse Sentenced For Dementia Patient Abuse

A nurse who assaulted a dementia patient has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service.

Senior sister Agnes Lawrence, 53, from Croftfoot in Glasgow, abused the 76-year-old man at Rowantree Nursing Home in Rutherglen in January 2007.

She grabbed his hair, pulled him to the floor and banged his head off a door. Glasgow Sheriff Court was told that Lawrence attacked the frail pensioner when he became aggressive after being asked to sit down for dinner.

The abuse was witnessed by care assistant Nicola Stein, who described it as “like something outside a pub”.

She later reported Lawrence to managers at the care home.

Passing sentencing, Sheriff Daniel Convery said: “The offence of which you were convicted is a serious one which involved substantial abuse of a vulnerable patient in your professional care.”
Euan Cameron, defending, said there was now “no chance” of Lawrence ever working in nursing again.

“She thoroughly enjoyed her job and losing it has been a very serious consequence of this conviction,” he said.

The defence lawyer added that Lawrence was left “almost destitute” after losing her job and suffered from depression.