TWO aged care workers who tied an elderly man with dementia to a chair, pushed him, and dragged him across the floor have been banned from healthcare for two years.
Supryinka Poudel and Megana Pandey were working as assistants in nursing in the memory support unit at a facility run by Infinite Care.
That organisation runs a number of nursing homes, including on the Central Coast.
The two women worked a night shift together on June 24, 2023, when their activities were recorded. The CCTV footage was examined during a routine review by the facility manager the following day.
In a decision published on its website, the Health Care Complaints Commission says the two women blamed one another for the 85-year-old man's treatment.
Multilevel failures
The commission found them guilty on several grounds, first of using an unauthorised restrictive practice, by placing a sheet around the resident, tying him to a chair and restricting his movement.
Second, they used unreasonable force several times through the night, including pushing the man into a chair and pulling and dragging him across the floor.
Third, they were neglectful in their duties, failing to report the four times that he fell during that shift, and failing to offer him any assistance, leaving him on the floor in urine-soaked clothing.
The fourth allegation proven against them was inflicting psychological and emotional abuse, by leaving him on the floor after he fell, and not cleaning and changing him.
Caught out
The complaint was raised by Infinite Care itself, which fired the two women immediately.
Ms Poudel, 24, started working with Infinite Care in December, 2022, on a casual basis before she became a permanent part-time employee.
Ms Pandey, 21, began working at Infinite Care six months earlier, in June, 2022.
The resident suffered from dementia and needed help to stand and walk and was classified as a high fall risk, which was documented in his medical records.
Both workers had training and were aware of their reporting obligations in relation to restrictive practices, falls, and serious incident reporting.
On camera
In a log of the CCTV footage from that night, the women are described as sitting behind the elderly man about five feet away after tying him to a chair.
They were seen using their mobile phones while he tried to free himself, and fell to the floor, at which point neither stepped in to offer assistance.
He later made repeated attempts to get up off the floor, and fell back. At one point, at 3.40am, he was helped to his feet and pushed roughly into a chair, and after trying a few times to stand up, fell and struck his head.
The incident went on for hours, from just after midnight to 4.30am when a third staff member stepped in and relieved Ms Poudel and Ms Pandey.
In contrast to their behaviour, when the man attempted to stand on numerous occasions, she intervened and successfully diverted him on each occasion.
In her response to the allegations of using unauthorised restrictive practices, Ms Poudel said "I thought this procedure is known by facility too and it's OK to do".
Both claimed the resident was aggressive, and so they did not go to his aid when he fell, but rather kept their distance to protect themselves.
The commission found both women posed a significant risk to the health and safety of the community. They are banned from proving any type of health service, either paid or voluntarily, to any member of the public for two years.
