Lake Illawarra police have labelled the alleged assaults of five elderly patients at a Warrigal Care nursing home as “horrendous”.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday police charged a 48-year-old woman from Windang with five counts of assault on three women and two men aged between 74 and 87 at the Warilla aged care facility.
The incidents allegedly occurred between October and December.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, crime manager Detective Chief Inspector Glen Broadhead said the assaults were “serious”.
“Four of the incidents involved the striking of victims and the other involved the spraying of one victim,” he said.
Detective Chief Inspector Broadhead said police believed the spray bottle contained a “cleaning fluid”.
“For an elderly victim to be assaulted in a facility where they believe they are going to be cared for is unfathomable to the community,” he said.
The Mercury first reported the case on Friday after Jennifer Tease, the daughter of Violet Tease, learnt of her mother’s alleged assault.
Warrigal management notified Ms Tease that her mother was allegedly sprayed in the face with a cleaning product last Thursday. She said she felt like she had “failed” her mother.
Ms Tease has decided to speak out about the incident because she knows her mother would not want anyone else to be hurt and because her mother was active in the Shellharbour community through the Rotary and Lions clubs.
Ms Tease has praised police investigators.
“I can’t thank the police enough,” she said. “They have been in contact with me several times a day to tell me updates or to just touch base.
“Being so far away in Queensland makes me feel so helpless.”
Warrigal acting executive officer Craig Smith told the Mercury on Friday that the carer was stood down immediately on December 24 after staff reported the alleged allegations which involved “using more force than necessary with the resident”.
Detective Chief Inspector Broadhead said police relied on witnesses to come forward with detailed accounts of what occurred because the victims had dementia.
“Allegations of violence need to be brought to light and investigated so victims can be protected,” he said.
“It is very important that we look after the vulnerable members in our community and we need to ensure they feel safe.”
Family members have also provided evidence during the investigation.
He said police were continuing to investigate and further charges could be laid if there was sufficient evidence.
The woman was granted conditional bail and will appear at Port Kembla Local Court on February 27.
