A dementia patient had a “Wet Wipes” towelette stuffed into her mouth by a care worker to keep her quiet at a Sydney aged care home, Manly Local Court has heard. Anita Prajapati, 31, of Dee Why, also allegedly slapped the woman, aged in her late 80s, across the mouth after she screamed while her clothes were being changed. It is alleged that Ms Prajapati shoved the “scrunched up” Wet Wipes into the elderly woman’s mouth in a room at Peter Cosgrove House — a high-care unit at the RSL LifeCare “War Vets” home at Narrabeen. Ms Prajapati was suspended from her job as a care service employee after a workmate, who allegedly saw the assault on November 1 last year, made a complaint to management. She was later charged with one count of common assault. Ms Prajapati has pleaded not guilty. The workmate, Larissa Daley, told the court on Monday that she and Ms Prajapati were both helping the patient move from a chair to her bed at 2.30pm when the elderly woman, who can no longer talk, screamed out. “That’s when Anita slapped her in the mouth and said ‘stop that’,” Ms Daley said. She said the alleged slap covered the patient’s mouth. Ms Daley said a few moments later, when she and Ms Prajapati were trying to undress the patient, the elderly woman screamed out again. “(Anita) put the Wet Wipe in her mouth and said ‘I told you to stop that’,” Ms Daley said. “It ended up scrunched up in her mouth.” When asked to describe Ms Prajapati’s demeanour at the time of the alleged incident, Ms Daley replied: “Frustrated”. Ms Daley reported the alleged assault to management at Peter Cosgrove House at 4.30pm the same day. She did not report the incident until after she and Ms Prajapati attended to two more patients. Management then contacted police. The court was told that Ms Daley had been upset that Ms Prajapati had criticised her standard of work on a number of occasions and that she had “belittled” Ms Daley in front of their colleagues. Ms Prajapati denied slapping the elderly woman or placing a moistened towelette in her mouth. She told the court that she had only wiped food from around the patient’s mouth as they prepared her for bed. Ms Prajapati said she asked the patient if she was “fine” while helping her out of her clothes, gave her a glass of water, turned on her TV and told her to “have a wonderful day” when she left the room. Magistrate Michelle Goodwin placed a non-publication order on any information that may help identity the alleged victim. Ms Goodwin adjourned the part-heard hearing to Manly Local Court on July 5.
