Hospital assistant denies sexual assault on ward

Jobin Jose had been working at Broomfield Hospital for one year prior to the alleged incident

A healthcare assistant has denied sexually assaulting a patient after she used a bed pan to urinate.

Jobin Jose, 41, said it was "a lie" to say he used his fingers to penetrate the woman at Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford, Essex, on 11 May 2022.

"She asked me to wipe her and I did my responsibility as a HCA," he told a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court.

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

The complainant alleged Mr Jose launched a "vigorous" sexual attack on her after she had awoken from a foot operation on the Notley Ward.

She 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 was told.

Mr Jose had been moved to the hospital's Notley Ward due to staff shortages that day

Giving evidence, Mr Jose said he moved to the UK four years ago and admitted he had "some difficulties to speak English".

He told the jury how the patient had shouted at him prior to the alleged incident due to a difficulty in understanding him.

"I thought she was behaving like that because of the post-operative stress. I thought she must be worried," Mr Jose said.

The defendant said upon being asked to get a bed pan, he searched for a colleauge to assist him, but due to "staff shortages" there was nobody available.

After the complainant had urinated, he said she then asked him to wipe her.

"She asked me to wipe her, so I went to the toilet and took two tissues and wiped her," Mr Jose said.

Jobin Jose is on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex

Asked if he wiped her vagina without consent or penetrated her with his fingers, Mr Jose responded: "No, it's a lie."

He added: "When the patient requests something to me as an HCA, it's my responsibility to help and I did that.

"If the patient is asking me to bring a female staff to help her I would definitely do that."

The alleged victim's interview with the police was played to the court on Monday.

She claimed Mr Jose "zoomed" over to her and wiped her genitals "vigorously" without consent after she urinated.

"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.

The trial continues.