A hospital worker tied an elderly patient to her bed with the woman’s gown and then bragged about it, a court heard.

Chiamaka Jideofor, 20, was a clinical support worker at Medway Maritime Hospital at the time.

Jideofor was meant to be giving one-to-one care to dementia patient Shirley Loosley on Will Adams ward in January this year.

But Medway magistrates heard that the 20-year-old tied the pensioner to her bed with her hospital gown, and a nurse who discovered the distressed woman found the ties had been secured so tightly, it took all her strength to undo them .

Jideofor was later arrested over the matter and charged with assault, but when she appeared in court earlier this year, she denied the allegation.

A trial was held at Medway Magistrates’ Court in September and Jideofor was found guilty.

She was sentenced at the same court this week.

James Nichols, prosecuting, said: “A nurse, Lisa Appleton, went to the woman’s bed to see why the curtains were shut. She could see the woman was tied to the bed.

“Her hospital nightdress, which opens at the back with ties, has been used to tie her to the bed.

“It had been secured so tightly, it took the nurse all her strength to untie it.

“When the defendant came back to the area, she said to the nurse ‘did you see what I did?’”

Other allegations were also made against Jideofor, including the claim that she inappropriately put her arm around Mrs Loosley, and that she was leaning on her when she walked, rather than supporting her.

However, no charges in relation to these allegations were ever brought.

Mr Nichols added: “This was a frail old lady. She suffered no injuries but was heard shouting out at the time, ‘no, no, no’ in distress.”

"This was a vulnerable person. Society does not accept this sort of behaviour" - Chairman of the bench, Veenod Rama

Amelia Evans, defending, told the court it was a one-off incident.

Miss Evans said: “She is now a university student and is in college three to four days a week. She continues to work as a carer at weekends.

“This was a one-off incident which will have an impact on her hopes of becoming a nurse.”

Probation officers had also carried out a pre-sentencing report on Jideofor, and told the court there were no drug or drink issues involved in the incident.

An officer added: “She tells me she’s studying to be a nurse. This will have an impact on that, and she is doing an NVQ level 4 in health and social care.

“I have informed her she must now tell her employers about her conviction.”

Mrs Loosley has since passed away.

Chairman of the bench, Veenod Rama, said: “This was a vulnerable person.

“Society does not accept this sort of behaviour.”

Magistrates placed Jideofor, of Tenby Road, Romford, Essex, on a 12-month community order, which will include 80 hours of unpaid work, and ordered her to pay £620 costs.

Karen Rule, director of nursing at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is of paramount importance that all of our patients are treated with compassion, dignity and respect.

“We were shocked and appalled to learn of this incident and the actions of the individual in question – an agency worker not employed by the trust.

“We immediately acted by removing the individual from her duties, and referring the matter to the Kent Police Combined Safeguarding Team.

“We also alerted the relevant nursing agency to inform them of the incident, and to flag our concerns at the agency worker’s behaviour.

“As a result, she will never work at Medway Maritime Hospital again.

“We would like to offer our sincere apologies to the patient’s family for any distress this has caused them.”