A care worker has denied allegations that she ill-treated an elderly resident at a Highland care home by crawling towards his bed and touching him on the face while he slept.
Shannon-Ashley Anderson has pled not guilty to a single charge, which also alleges she recorded the 79-year-old resident repeatedly on her mobile phone and failed to provide him with assistance when he needed it.
The charge, which is denied, also alleges that Anderson threatened the pensioner and pinched him on the head at the Fodderty House care home, Dingwall.
Anderson was not present when the case called at Inverness Sheriff Court, but defence solicitor Natalie Paterson entered a plea of not guilty on her client’s behalf.
The prosecution asked for a trial to be assigned.
Carer denies single charge
Court papers detail how Anderson is alleged to have entered the room of the elderly patient without permission, crawled towards his bed and touched him on the face while he was sleeping.
She is also accused of wakening the pensioner without cause or permission and repeatedly recording him on her mobile phone.
The charge further alleges that the 24-year-old failed to provide the man with assistance when he required it, addressed offensive remarks towards him and threatened him with violence.
She is also accused of pinching the man on the head.
Care worker trial set for October
The offending is alleged to have taken place between September 1 and September 30 last year.
Anderson, of West Drive, Dingwall, is charged under a section of the 2016 Health Act that deals with ill-treatment and wilful neglect offences by care workers – with an alternative charge of threatening or abusive behaviour toward the man listed on the complaint.
Following the lodging of the not-guilty plea, a trial was set for October, with the case next due to call in September of this year.
