Pensioner hit by care worker

A care worker in the Black Country lost his temper with an 85-year-old patient, slapping him around the head twice and pulling his collar so it choked him, magistrates were told.

Joy Parmar also swore in the dementia sufferer's face at the West Bromwich-based Edward Street Hospital which cares for elderly people with mental health problems.

Parmar, who has since been sacked, was yesterday given an eight-week jail sentence suspended for six months and a six month supervision order. He was also ordered to pay £400 costs by Warley magistrates.

Magistrates heard evidence from carer Diana Neate, who was working with Parmar on the night of the assault, at about 10.30pm on January 10.

Fighting back the tears, Miss Neate recalled how the 41-year-old lost his temper with the pensioner.

Parmar stopped him getting up from his wheelchair twice by grabbing him by the collar, causing him to shout "stop it you're choking me", she said.

She later saw Parmar, of Evrington Road in West Bromwich, slap the man around the head twice.

Then she described screams as Parmar squeezed the patient's groin as they got him ready for bed.

"I could not believe my eyes, I was shocked," she said.

The court was told that on the night of the attack, Parmar was worried about his partner, who suffered with multiple sclerosis and had taken a turn for the worse.

But magistrates found Parmar guilty of assault by beating which he denied.

Afterwards, Sandwell Mental Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement it took immediate action after the incident by suspending Parmar and carrying out an internal investigation.