A woman has spoken of her relief after learning that a man who acted in an “unacceptable” way towards her 94-year-old mother is no longer working in the Highland care sector.
Blan Bremner said it was “long overdue” after it emerged that 47-year-old John George has left his post as a nursing auxiliary at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Mr George and a female colleague were secretly recorded acting in a “highly inappropriate” way towards Mrs Bremner’s mother, dementia sufferer Doreen MacIntyre, at the Kingsmills Care Home in the Highland capital.
Mrs Bremner previously said she had burst into tears and was left “physically sick” after listening to a 16-hour tape, which included her mother’s pleas for help being ignored for long periods, and the two employees giving a slow round of applause to the pensioner after she had asked for “a hand”.
There were also conversations of a “sexual nature” in front of the elderly resident.
The pair were suspended after the recording was made in September 2013, before later quitting the home, but Mr George continued to work at Raigmore Hospital.
He was eventually suspended from the job by NHS Highland in December last year, and it has now emerged that he was left the post.
Last night, Mrs Bremner said: “I don’t think he should have been working in the care sector or the NHS.
“It’s long overdue because I let them know about it at the beginning of 2014. It has been a long time.
“I’ve got four brothers and a sister and they have been sick about it too. We put Mum in there thinking she was being looked after 24 hours a day, then this happens.
“We know there’s an awful lot of good carers out there. These people are letting them all down.”
The Press and Journal revealed last year that the Care Inspectorate had upheld three complaints against the nursing home over the treatment of Mrs MacIntyre.
Last December, NHS Highland confirmed that Mr George had been “deactivated from his post pending an investigation”.
Yesterday, a spokesman for the health board said: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment as the individual no longer works for NHS Highland.”
