A care worker has been jailed for ten months for ill-treating an elderly dementia patient by feeding her with a syringe, causing her to choke.
Katherine Latham, 63, of Railway Road, Downham Market, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today (December 16).
Latham used a syringe to put pureed food into the mouth of the 93-year-old patient at Amberley Hall care home on October 15 2013.
The patient should have been fed by a spoon as feeding her with a syringe would cause a significant risk of choking.
As a result the elderly woman had problems breathing and was admitted to hospital where she died two days later. However, the cause of death was not due to Latham’s actions.
Latham was later reported for the offence of Ill Treatment/Neglect Contrary under the Mental capacity Act 2005 and was found guilty following a trial in October.
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