Family of an elderly woman who was tied to a bed with her nightdress by a hospital worker are calling for staff to be vetted more thoroughly.

Shirley Loosley, a dementia sufferer from Minster, was meant to be receiving one-to-one care on the Will Adams ward at Medway Maritime in January.

But magistrates heard Chiamaka Jideofor, who was a clinical support worker, tied the 80-year-old to a bed.

A nurse who discovered the distressed woman found the knots had been secured so tightly, it took all her strength to undo them.

Jideofor, 20, was arrested and charged with assault, but denied the allegation.

She was found guilty following a trial at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

Mrs Loosley, of Abbeyview Drive, died in June of natural causes.

Her family are now asking for agency staff to be vetted more thoroughly to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Son Martin Burford said: “We are still awaiting an investigation from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at Medway Maritime Hospital and are hoping that agency staff are vetted more thoroughly from now on as we feel the hospital is ultimately responsible for staff whether they are from an agency or not.

“We are very grateful to the staff that reported this terrible assault on my mother, and to Karen Caulfield from Medway police for her support and efforts to get this case to court.”

Other allegations were 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.

Speaking of the assault, prosecutor James Nichols 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, had 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?’”

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.”

Amelia Evans, defending, told the court it was a one-off and would impact her client’s hopes of becoming a nurse.

She 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.”

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

“Society does not accept this sort of behaviour.”

Jideofor, of Tenby Road in Romford, Essex, was placed 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, 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.”