Vile moment callous carer jokes 'is she dead yet?' about West Midlands stroke patient

Two carers were caught on a doorbell camera making vile comments about an elderly stroke patient in the West Midlands - with one joking: “Is she dead yet?” 

Janice Dwyers, 65, said she was “physically sick” after the workers were filmed outside her assisted living flat. 

The Platform Housing care workers turned up unannounced at Janice’s apartment in Henwick House in St John’s, Worcester.

The footage captured the pair chatting as they waited outside her front door last Friday (March 20) afternoon. Janice answered but the men had already gone so she watched the doorbell footage to see who had knocked on her door.

In the clip, one man knocks on the door before the other says: “So is she dead yet?” He then pretends to read instructions for the job off an iPad and says: “Vulnerable person with medical conditions. “Don’t bang the door too hard, take your pants off before you go in.” The other worker responds: “Oh the usual.” 

Janice, who moved into the retirement complex after suffering a stroke two years ago, said the abuse had “shocked her.” 

She said: "I didn't recognise the men who knocked on the door and one of them wasn't wearing a carers lanyard so could've been anyone. 

"He suddenly said 'ain't she dead yet'. It just shocked me that someone could be so cruel. I am a tough cookie but I live in this assisted living complex to feel safe. Then he proceeded to read through the notes on his iPad about medical conditions, that I was vulnerable, and then he started to make things up. What was most chilling was they weren't even laughing, they were just making these cruel, callous comments as if I was nothing.

"Many years ago I was in an abusive relationship with a man who spoke to me in the same horrible way. After watching the footage, it brought it all back to me."

Janice was so shaken by the ordeal she left the flat and went to stay with her grown-up son Warren, 38, in Stourport-on-Severn. 

The retired counsellor said: "I was actually physically sick because of it. I am in my own home, minding my own business, and that is what they are saying about me. It is just vile. To callously ask if I was ‘dead yet’ and then make lurid comments about taking their pants off was just disgusting. 

"I am not a doddery old lady. I am the youngest person living here, but there are many vulnerable people there and God knows what they say about them before they go in. They should be sacked." 

Platform Property Care, who employed the men, said they were investigating the incident. 

Managing director Alan Haywood said: "We are deeply concerned by the footage captured at one of our homes in Worcester and the distress this has caused Ms Dwyers. 

"This behaviour is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the values or standards we expect from anyone working with or on behalf of Platform Housing Group. 

"We have launched an immediate investigation to establish the full circumstances and identify those involved. Appropriate action will be taken as a matter of urgency. 

"We have been in direct contact with Ms Dwyers to offer our sincere apologies and ongoing support. The safety, dignity and wellbeing of our customers must always come first, and we recognise how seriously this incident has impacted her."