A hospital worker stuffed a wet wipe into the mouth of a 96-year-old patient to stop her screaming.

Healthcare assistant Deborah Roberts, 53, used the tissue to muffle the cries of Phyllis Hadlow in front of stunned colleagues at the Kent and Canterbury hospital.

She also poured water over the elderly patients’s head, telling other staff: “My son said if they do it to you, you can do it to them.”

Details of the shocking abuse emerged at Canterbury magistrates’ court on Tuesday, where the bench ruled Roberts had wilfully mistreated Mrs Hadlow, whose mental capacity had become impaired with age.

During a two-day trial Roberts, from Deal, claimed the incidents had both been accidents.

The court was told Mrs Hadlow, who has since died, needed full medical care and could express her feelings, but would lash out and scream.

"I have had enough of this. My son said if they do it to you, you can do it to them..." - Deborah Roberts

Alison Andrews was on duty with Roberts in October 2013 and saw her push the wipe into her mouth.

She called staff nurse Janet Nelson, who told the court she heard screaming coming from Phyllis’s bed and went to investigate.

As she approached the bed she saw Roberts shove the wipe into her mouth.

In her opinion it was deliberate. Roberts told both nurses she did it to stop the patient screaming.

Mrs Nelson said: “I don’t want to see this again.”

The bench said Roberts’ actions amounted to ill-treatment.

In a separate incident, Mrs Hadlow threw water at Roberts, so the hospital worker got a plastic cup and poured some on her head, the court was told.

Lisa Ross, another healthcare assistant, told the court she was disgusted and shocked by what she had seen.

But Roberts said: “I have had enough of this. My son said if they do it to you, you can do it to them.”

Staff nurse Lauren Scotcher was putting Mrs Hadlow’s slippers on and confirmed what Mrs Ross had heard.

In their ruling, the bench said all four prosecution witnesses were credible and the case was proved beyond all reasonable doubt.

"Roberts seemed so confident of her innocence when giving evidence, giving the impression that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth..." - Edward Hadlow, grandson

Roger Davies, defending, said Roberts had wrecked a lifelong career and was now unemployable in her chosen field.

He said: “She didn’t think about the consequences of her actions. She will be reminded every week of what she has done and the price she has paid.”

Roberts was given a one-year community order to include 120 hours’ unpaid work. She was ordered to pay £750 costs plus a £60 victim surcharge.

She was suspended from her job shortly after the incidents in October 2013 and subsequently sacked.

Julie Pearce, chief nurse and director of quality for the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are very sorry for the care Mrs Hadlow received whilein our hospital and for the distress this would have caused to herself and her family.

“As soon as we were made aware of these allegations in October 2013 we suspended Mrs Roberts, referred the incident to the police and dismissed her.”

The family of Mrs Hadlow say they are relieved that justice has been served, but cannot forgive Roberts.

They believe the pensioner’s mistreatment continued to affect her until her death, saying she would often raise her hands to cover her mouth when approached.

Her son and grandson, Dennis and Edward Hadlow, who run a fishery at Calcott Hill, Sturry, were speaking after the trial, where evidence of what happened to the 96-year-old was heard.

Mrs Hadlow, a widow who was married to a farmer and lived in Hillborough for almost 50 years, died at the Tralee nursing home in Whitstable last July.

“We were told the sentence was one step below being sent to prison, but it will also have ended her career” - Edward Hadlow, grandson

Edward, 41, and his sister Carla sat through the two-day hearing, but Dennis said he could not face it for fear of finding it too upsetting.

The 71-year-old said: “You do not expect an elderly patient to be treated like that on a specialist dementia ward in Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

“We know people with advanced dementia can be difficult to handle but the staff are supposed to be trained.

“I just knew I would not be able to sit through the trial without saying something.”

Edward says he and Carla found it upsetting to hear the evidence of how his grandmother was ill-treated.

He said: “We knew some of the allegations before the trial but not all the detail and it upset us and made us angry.

“Roberts seemed so confident of her innocence when giving evidence, giving the impression that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. I am glad the witnesses who saw what happened had the courage to speak out.

“We were told the sentence was one step below being sent to prison, but it will also have ended her career.”

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