Beauty Mufakazi, 54, is alleged to have ignored patient Lorraine Parkin’s requests for food and left her out in the sun causing her to be ‘red and burned’
A live-in carer compared to Matilda’s Miss Trunchbull is accused of pulling a Huntington’s disease sufferer ‘like a rag doll’ and leaving her in a urine-soaked bed.
Beauty Mufakazi, 54, is alleged to have ignored patient Lorraine Parkin’s requests for food and left her out in the sun causing her to be ‘red and burned’.
Mufakazi, from Manchester, is also accused of grabbing 46-year-old Mrs Parkin’s arm and ‘yanking it upwards and twisting it outwards’.
She has denied two counts of ill treatment or willful neglect at Manchester Crown Court.
Mrs Parkin suffers from Huntington’s Disease, a degenerative brain condition which means she is not able to walk, cannot communicate verbally and suffers from involuntary movements.
Outlining the case against the Mufakazi, prosecutor Henry Blackshaw told the jury: ‘The defendant is not being prosecuted because she was not the best carer in the world, or conflicts of opinion as to how things should be done.
‘She is being prosecuted because her behaviour was so poor it crossed the line and became criminal offending.’
The court heard that by 2014 Mrs Parkin’s needs meant she had to be looked after in hospital, but she was keen to return to live with her sons Stuart and Karl in Salford, Greater Manchester.
A care package was set up to make this possible, taking into consideration factors such as her inability to chew and poor swallowing, which meant she had to be fed purified foods.
Mr Blackshaw said: ‘A high level of care was needed. It was a challenge but it was done.’
Mrs Parkin lived in a downstairs room with an adjacent room acting as sleeping quarters for a live-in carer.
Mufakazi has denied two counts of ill treatment or willful neglect at Manchester Crown Court
Mrs Parkin needed two carers because of the need touse a hoist to move her. They were provided by an agency called Pulse, the court was told.
Other carers, including occupational therapists, also visited as part of the arrangement.
Mrs Parkin returned home in January 2015, with her sons living in the house but not part of the care arrangement.
Mr Blackshaw told the jury that the intial carer ‘had a good relationship’ with Mrs Parkin, but went on an extended holiday in June 2015, when Mufakazi became her replacement.
Mufakazi was removed from her post on September 4, 2015, Mr Blackshaw said: ‘At this point the care package broke down and Mrs Parkin had to be returned to hospital.’
The trial continues.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.