Northland caregiver left patient with wounds for months before she was discovered by police

The elderly woman needed urgent medical care. Photo / File

A bedridden woman who relied on a caregiver was discovered with wounds that had gone untreated for four months and in need of urgent medical attention when police arrived at her property on an unrelated matter.

The caregiver was employed to provide services to the victim, who cannot be identified, as she had multiple health issues including severe mental impairment, dementia, was confined to her bed and required daily assistance.

However, instead of providing care to the Northland woman, the caregiver left bedsore wounds untreated and was yesterday sentenced in the Whangārei District Court on one charge of ill-treatment and neglect of a vulnerable adult.

Defence lawyer Oscar Hintze told the court the caregiver, who is in her 50s, thought she could cure the woman’s bedsores but then realised that was not possible.

When spoken to by police, the caregiver admitted she first noticed the wound in June of 2022. However, it was not until October when the victim was found by police in a poor state of health. She had open wounds, head lice and an accumulation of food built up underneath her.

Prosecutor Nicole Jamieson told the court she did not accept the caregiver could have healed the wound as it was so severe. It had got to a stage where there was no other option but to seek help which the defendant did not do.

“This was a conscious decision to leave her there, by choosing each day to not seek assistance,” Jamieson said.

She argued there was an element of premeditation in the offending but before Judge Greg Davis said there was no evidence of planning.

“The victim relied upon you ... for all her day-to-day needs in both physical and personal care.

“I’ve seen a series of photos, they are to put it lightly, quite graphic,” Judge Davis said.

The judge acknowledged the caregiver pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had not previously appeared before the courts. He also referenced the impact Covid has had on the care industry as being a factor referred to as pressure the defendant was under.

With a start point of two years imprisonment, the caregiver was entitled to a number of reductions for early remorse, no previous history and the judge ended at a final sentence of seven months’ home detention.

It was noted in court the victim’s family was unaware of the sentencing.