A healthcare assistant at Ninewells Hospital filmed an 82-year-old woman with dementia crawling on a ward floor.
Gemma Brown, 30, took the video during a nightshift on the Medicine For The Elderly ward before accidentally uploading it to Facebook.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told how two nurses agreed it was appropriate for the frail pensioner to be allowed on the floor.
The court heard how during the video, a voice was heard to say: “What do you want to do with her?” before the word “b****.”
Cleared of neglect charge
Brown claimed that she was opposed to this and believed the woman should have been treated better.
The court heard how the incident occurred on the first day non-Covid wards were re-opened in April 2020.
Brown stood trial accused of “ill-treating or wilfully neglecting” the pensioner but she was cleared of the charge.
Defence solicitor Billy Rennie said Brown’s actions did not constitute any mistreatment of the patient.
He said: “While there’s evidence this patient was crawling on the floor, there is no evidence she ought to have been assisted.
“It is simply that a reasonable person would have done this. It’s quite clear that there was no deliberate intention to post this on social media.
“I would not disagree with the suggestions that the video being taken was inappropriate. The issue is the criminal act of ill-treatment.”
‘A risk to herself and others’
It was revealed how the elderly woman had headbutted Brown and struck nurse Grace Gribbin, 26, during the night.
Miss Gribbin said it was her decision to allow the patient to remain on the floor, saying: “You try and help them up off the floor, however, we were hit multiple times that night.
“I saw her crawling on the floor. She was getting into bed and getting out of it and hitting staff. I was hit myself.”
Miss Gribbin said the woman was a risk to herself, staff and other patients but would have posed less risk to remain on the floor.
This opinion was shared by staff nurse, Vicki Leonard, who added: “We can’t restrain patients so we had to get security to come and talk to her.
“We were observing her all the time.”
Video was accidently streamed
The court heard from Brown’s colleague Nicola Mortali, who was shielding at the time of the incident, but was the intended recipient of the video.
However, Brown, who has mental health issues, accidentally streamed the brief video on Facebook Live which was seen by other NHS colleagues.
Mrs Mortali said she was “horrified” after seeing the video and did not agree with Brown’s decision to film the woman.
Senior charge nurse, Nicola Hedley, received a late-night phone call from Brown informing her of the video.
Under questioning from prosecutor Carrie-Anne Mackenzie, Mrs Hedley said: “I saw a photo at first. It was a patient on her hands and knees on the ground on the ward.
“I was upset because it’s a vulnerable patient. We are there to care, not to do things like that.
“To see a patient on the floor like that is not normal.”
Denied all charges
Brown, of East Newgate, Arbroath, denied ill-treating or wilfully neglecting the woman, then aged 82, on ward 6 at Ninewells Hospital between April 21-22 last year.
She was accused of failing to assist the woman in providing immediate aid while she crawled on the floor in distress along with filming her and posting the video on social media.
Sheriff Francis Gill returned a not proven verdict on Brown, saying: “I have considered all the evidence and submissions made today. I do not believe the Crown have proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.”
Brown sobbed as she left the dock.
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside confirmed Brown was no longer employed by the health service.
