Whorlton Hall: Accused carer denies abusing patient

Whorlton Hall has since closed

A carer accused of abusing a vulnerable patient at a hospital did not intend to agitate her, a court has heard.

Nine former workers at Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, deny 27 offences arising from an undercover BBC Panorama film in 2019.

Peter Bennett, 53, was the first defendant to take to the witness stand at Teesside Crown Court.

He told the jury he had only intended to calm a screaming patient down when he went to her room.

'Nervous breakdown'

The incident and subsequent conversations with Mr Bennett were filmed by BBC reporter Olivia Davies on 6 January 2019 and shown to jurors.

The defendant said he had been injured "about 10 times" while at Whorlton Hall and in November 2018 suffered a nervous breakdown after becoming "overwhelmed" by the "stresses working there".

He was on duty when Ms Davies was one of two healthcare assistants assigned to look after a woman with autism.

The court heard the patient preferred interacting with female carers and did not like balloons, although there were some in her room.

Mr Bennett recalled hearing the patient screaming in her room and thought he heard a staff attack alarm so responded with another of the defendants.

'Man button'

Covertly filmed footage showed Mr Bennet go inside to talk to the woman.

Under questioning from his barrister, Andrew Rutter, Mr Bennett said he could not leave the room until the woman had settled as she had a "history of violence and aggression".

The court previously heard the defendant referred to a "man button" which prosecutors said was a threat that men would be called to her room.

Mr Bennett said there was a "non-emergency help" button - with an image of a man on it - in every room.

Jurors heard he had told the patient about the "man button" on a previous occasion when she was screaming and meant she could press the button for help.

"Were you intending to agitate her?" Mr Rutter asked his client.

"Absolutely not, the complete opposite," he replied.

'No quick fix'

Under cross-examination by Anne Richardson, Mr Bennett said the patient's preference for female carers was "not a hard and fast rule" because she "hated" some women and liked some men.

He admitted telling police he thought she was "calculating" and believed she wanted female carers as they were easier to attack.

In the covert footage, jurors saw Mr Bennett talking to the screaming woman while "twanging" a balloon.

Mr Bennett denied he was playing with it deliberately and said he was surprised to learn she had an aversion to balloons.

Ms Richardson asked why the defendant had not used a different technique to pacify the patient, to which he replied there was "no quick fix".

Jurors were shown footage of Mr Bennett talking to Ms Davies where he appeared to suggest staff should be issued with balloons.

He said the woman had stopped screaming when he picked up the balloon, adding he was "talking rubbish" to the reporter.

He denied being "deliberately cruel" and rejected the assertion he liked to "bully" and "exert control" over patients.

The trial also heard from Mr Bennett's wife Sarah, another carer at Whorlton Hall, who said the woman had bought balloons for herself while on a trip.

She said while the patient preferred female carers, there were men she liked as well but because of the woman's autism, her list of "likes and dislikes" could "change daily".

'Massive' staff turnover

Matthew Banner, who denies six charges relating to the same woman, told the court he received no training in how to deal with people with autism.

The 43-year-old, from Newton Aycliffe, said he was only ever trained in restraint techniques and had to pull out of two autism courses because of low staffing levels.

He described the turnover of staff as "massive" and said in some cases there would be one carer for three patients, when there should have been one-to-one care.

Mr Banner said the churn of staff was so great that someone with six months' experience would in effect be considered "senior" and he was promoted after 10 months.

When asked how he would "deal with" situations without experience or training, Mr Banner replied: "With a little bit of confidence mixed in with a little bit of bluff."

Four of the charges relate to the patient and balloons, the court heard.

Mr Banner said balloons were one of the few things the woman liked.

"When you are responding [to an alarm call], is there any point in antagonising someone?" Mr Banner's lawyer Stephen Constantine asked.

"It would defeat the point of going there," the defendant replied.

He added: "Never once did I intentionally be cruel to anybody."

The nine accused face the following number of charges of ill-treatment of a person in care:

• John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington - two

• Darren Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington - two

• Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland - two

• Sara Banner, 33, of Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe - three

• Matthew Banner, 43, of the same address - six

• Ryan Fuller, 26, of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle - 10

• Sabah Mahmood, 27, of Woodland Crescent, Kelloe - one

• Peter Bennett, 52, of Redworth Road, Billingham - three

• Karen McGhee, 54, of Wildair Close, Darlington - two

The trial continues.