Posted on July 5, 2017

Video: Care Home Worker is Caught Punching 89-Year-Old Dementia Patient Eleven Times as He Changed His Diaper

Hannah Parry, Daily Mail, July 5, 2017

A care home worker has been caught on surveillance footage punching a vulnerable dementia patient in the face 11 times.

Personal support worker Jie Xiao was arrested and charged with assault after video showed the shocking attack on patient Georges Karam, 89.

Relatives of Karam had become concerned after he suffered a string of unexplained injuries while an in-patient at the Garry J Armstrong long-term care home in Ottawa, Canada, the Ottawa Citizen reports.

Daniel Nassrallah decided to install a high definition camera in his grandfather’s room – in full view and which care workers were aware of – to try and understand what was going on.

But when he reviewed the footage, he was shocked.

‘I literally stood up and fell down, my legs gave way because I didn’t know how to respond to this,’ he told the Citizen.

Video showed Xiao enter Karam’s room on May 8 to change the elderly patient’s diaper.

The confused dementia sufferer batted feebly at Xiao twice, who responded by hitting him 11 times.

He was also seen taunting the 89-year-old, aggressive thrusting his clenched fist in his Karam’s terrified face.

Xiao then tucks him in, and covers him with sheets and blankets before leaving.

Karam’s family were appalled after reviewing the footage, particularly when Xiao would have been aware of the camera above him.

‘We have a camera on him, and even that doesn’t deter him. To me, that’s mind blowing,’ his grandson said.

The family rushed to the care home after reviewing the video, calling the cops on the way, and ran into Xiao on the way to their grandfather’s room. They detained Xiao until police arrived and the care giver was arrested.

Karam was taken to hospital for a CT scan but was not seriously hurt.

He has since plead guilty to assault and is due to be sentenced later this year.

Xiao has also been fired by the City of Ottawa and police are investigating to see if any other patients were harmed.

Janice Burelle, general manager of Ottawa community and social services said that ‘the safety and well-being of all of our residents is our number one priority.

‘We take our commitment to safety seriously.’