Shocking videos show nursing home staff dancing in adult nappies to mock elderly patients
CHORLEY, LANCASHIRE: The staff at a nursing home has been suspended after shocking TikTok videos showing the employees wearing adult nappies and dancing around the hallways to mock their elderly dementia patients went viral on the internet.
The health workers of the Gillibrand Hall Nursing Home in Chorley, Lancashire made a series of TikTok videos while on the shift at the nursing home. One footage shows two workers walking down the hallway wearing adult nappies while taking part in a TikTok trend in which users recreate a scene from Disney's 'The Aristocats'.
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Another video shows an employee at the 'specialist dementia care' facility posing in a reclining chair while Westlife's song 'You Raise Me Up' plays in the background. The staff was also seen dancing with cushions that have face masks wrapped around them. The shocking clips were originally shared on TikTok, but now after the outrage, the account it was listed under has been deleted.
Apologizing for the footages, a spokesperson for Century Healthcare Management, said the company is now taking 'appropriate action' to investigate the incident and has suspended staff who participated in the video. The statement read, "We agree that this is totally inappropriate and wrong. We are appalled at what these staff members have chosen to do and we are already taking the appropriate action including investigation and suspension of staff. We take this matter extremely seriously and do not condone these actions."
"We have been liaising with families where necessary. Our operations manager is speaking directly with our CQC inspector. Senior management and directors will be interviewing the relevant staff this week before any final decisions are made. With our sincerest apologies," the statement added.
The care home, which provides nursing, dementia, and respite care for people aged over 65, was rated as good in March by the CQC, which said its residents received 'safe care from suitably trained and qualified staff.'
However, this is not the first time that an incident like this has come to light. Earlier this year, staff at the Edenfield center near Manchester were filmed mocking, slapping, and pinching vulnerable patients during an undercover investigation by BBC Panorama. Dr. Cleo Van Velsen, a consultant psychiatrist, said the undercover filming showed a “toxic culture” among the staff of “corruption, perversion, aggression, hostility, lack of boundaries”. It was reported that the allegations involve 40 patients and 25 staff, more than a dozen of whom have been suspended.