Whorlton Hall: Accused carer 'remorseful' for hospital behaviour

Whorlton Hall in County Durham has closed since the 2019 Panorama documentary

A carer who swore at a vulnerable man in a secure hospital was "remorseful" for his behaviour, 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.

John Sanderson, the eighth defendant to give evidence, admitted he had not always acted professionally, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He said he was "definitely not" a bully or cruel though.

'Venting'

Jurors have seen footage filmed by undercover reporter Olivia Davies, who posed as a carer at the 17-bedroom hospital for people with extreme behavioural and learning difficulties.

In one clip, Mr Sanderson, 27, who faces two charges of ill-treating one man, could be seen swearing and saying to the patient: "Punch me and see what happens, I'll put you through the floor."

Prosecutor Anne Richardson said Mr Sanderson was "goading" the man, adding: "You're just a bully aren't you?"

"Definitely not," he replied.

He said managers told him to be "firm" with the man, who would regularly attack staff when agitated, but he did not know what words would constitute being firm and was "remorseful" for his actions.

Mr Sanderson was also caught on camera describing patients in extremely insulting ways when talking to Ms Davies.

He told jurors that he was "just venting" and unloading stress but conceded: "I shouldn't have said it."

Mr Sanderson also said he was "showing off" when told the reporter he had repeatedly unplugged the man's phone when he was trying to call his sister and denied he ever did it.

He made that claim in front of another patient, a woman, who could be heard calling Mr Sanderson "evil" to which he replied: "I can be."

Mr Sanderson told jurors his comment was "bravado" because the woman would target weaker members of staff.

'Toxic'

The ninth defendant, 27-year-old Sabah Mahmood, was accused of ill-treating the same woman in an incident on 4 January 2019 by making derogatory comments about the patient's family and swearing at her.

The court heard the woman was escalating in her room having been anxious earlier after getting a message from a relative saying she should have died rather than her mother.

Ms Mahmood was filmed calling the woman's family "poisonous" which she told jurors was her honest opinion based on her own experience of bad family relations.

The court heard the carer was raised in a strict household and was duped into an arranged marriage when she was 16.

She suffered domestic abuse and walked out, ending up homeless and "shunned" by her relatives, the court heard.

The defendant said she was diagnosed with cancer and worked as a carer for the elderly without complaint for three years before starting at Whorlton Hall in March 2018.

'Awful out of context'

Starting as an agency worker, she later became full time but received no training on how to deal with patients, she claimed.

She said she had a good relationship and rapport with the female patient who would swear at staff and "prefer and respect" staff who swore back at her.

Ms Mahmood said she had heard supervisors also swear while speaking to the woman.

She agreed with her lawyer Paul Rooney that her comments could be seen as "awful" and "unprofessional" when taken out of context.

Jurors heard that after clip ended, Ms Mahmood sat next to the patient and let her tap her hand which was a technique she used to calm down.

Mr Rooney asked if his client had spoken to the patient in a way to "be cruel", which she denied.

He asked if she did it to "de-escalate" the woman, to which Ms Mahmood said yes, adding that it worked.

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, 27, 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.