Hospital patient 'sexually assaulted' by assistant

Jobin Jose was working on the Notley Ward at Broomfield Hospital when the alleged incident occurred

A hospital patient was "vigorously" sexually assaulted by a healthcare assistant after she used a bed pan to urinate, a court heard.

Jobin Jose, 41, is accused of using his fingers to penetrate a woman at Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford, Essex, on 11 May 2022.

The patient told Chelmsford Crown Court of her "horror" after the alleged attack on the Notley Ward, having just awoken from a foot operation.

Mr Jose, of Marconi Plaza in the city, has denied an offence of assault by penetration.

The complainant had not felt confident enough to walk to the toilet due to her condition and instead asked for the use of a bed pan, the trial opening heard.

Having finished urinating, she said Mr Jose "zoomed" over to her and began wiping her genitals "vigorously" without consent, the complainant told police during an interview, played to the court.

"I felt some fingers go inside my vagina and I yelled ‘no, stop’ and he removed them and then almost immediately put them back in again," she told officers.

"I yelled ‘stop’ and flailed my arms around just because it was all I could do."

The trial is expected to last for four days

Ravi Dogra, prosecuting, said Mr Jose was usually based on the hospital's burns unit but had been moved to the Notley Ward that day due to a lack of staff.

There was also no female nurse or chaperone available to assist the alleged victim, he added.

Mr Dogra said the defendant, who was arrested that evening, had a "poor command of the English language".

"He will say that he had [the complainant’s] consent to wipe her and that’s what he did," the prosecutor continued,

"As far as he was aware, he did not penetrate her at all."

The trial, expected to last four days, continues.