Daughter seeks tough sentences for care home abuse

A woman whose elderly father was hit over the head with a shoe by a care worker said she wanted tougher sentences for abuse in care homes.

The female care worker attacked Brenda Brereton's father at Woodside Nursing Home, near Luton, in 2022 and later admitted ill-treating or neglecting a vulnerable person.

The care worker was sentenced to complete 100 hours of community service in July 2025.

The care home said it took immediate action after a video of the incident came to light.

Brenda Brereton described her late father Mick Griffiths as "such a lovable man" who had a lot of friends and was always cracking jokes.

When the time came when he was unable to live on his own, his family spent a lot of time finding the ideal care home.

When they visited Woodside Nursing Home, Brereton knew it would be perfect for him.

She said: "I walked in the door, and I just felt warmth."

She liked the place so much that she got a job there and was able to visit her father regularly.

Then, in 2022, she heard that her father had been attacked.

She said: "There was a phone call to me and I was told the police were coming in and there was a video."

The six-second video showed a care worker holding a shoe above her head next to Griffiths' bed.

She then lowers her arm and brings the shoe crashing down onto Griffiths' head, while he is raising his arms in an attempt to protect himself.

She was then seen to run past the camera and out of the room.

Brereton could not bring herself to look at the video until it became clear it was part of the evidence for a prosecution.

She said: "It's absolutely horrific - nobody would want their parents to go through what my Dad did."

The Griffiths' family said they were "on top of the world" after the first court hearing because the judge warned the defendant that she could go to prison for her crime.

At the sentencing hearing, the family was hoping to get the same judge, but it was three magistrates who determined the sentence.

Brereton said: "We read our statement and they showed the video - we thought 'she's really going to get a punishment for this'.

"Her defence said it was a moment of madness and she had a nine-month-old baby and she was really sorry."

Then came the sentence - an order for 100 hours of unpaid work in the community and prosecution costs of £85.

Brereton said: "From where we're standing, that's not a moment of madness, she picked up my Dad's shoe and hit him across his head where he'd had two major surgeries."

"I was horrified - to do two hours a week is nothing. There's no deterrent.

"People see this and think 'it doesn't matter, I can hit this old man or this old lady because, if I get caught, I'm only going to get a slap on the wrist'."

She has called for "sentences that reflect properly the abuse of people who are under their care" because those people were "trapped in their own body, they can't speak out".

DMP Healthcare, which owns Woodside Nursing Home, said: "The incident in 2022 was treated with the utmost seriousness and acted upon immediately.

"It was reported to the police, the local safeguarding authority and the Care Quality Commission on the same day the allegation was received.

"The staff member involved was suspended immediately when the allegation was received. Following consultation with HR and the relevant authorities, the individual was dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct."

"The safety, dignity and wellbeing of residents remain our absolute priority."

The home added that it had carried out "a comprehensive review of safeguarding arrangements".

Studies have found that almost two thirds of care home staff said they have directed or perpetrated abusive acts against residents.

About 14% of residents say they have suffered physical abuse.

Care home staff must have enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks before they start work, but this would only exclude those who have been convicted of a criminal offence or have issues flagged on their records.

Some relatives arrange for cameras to be installed in their loved one's care home rooms, but some homes do not allow this and there are privacy and data protection issues to consider.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: "Hurting an elderly person who depends on others is sickening and our thoughts are with the victims and families of abuse like this.

"Sentences are for independent judges, but the courts have serious powers – including prison or demanding, tightly supervised community punishments – to make sure offenders face real consequences."

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