An abusive health care assistant who beat and taunted elderly dementia patients at Whipps Cross Hospital is facing jail.

Akosua Sakyiwaa, 38, of Orange Grove, Leytonstone was on Thursday found guilty of seven charges of neglecting the women in their care.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court Sakyiwaa was found guilty of four counts of neglect against three patients, including holding a bed sheet over 87-year-old Joan Massett’s head and telling her she was dead.

Prosecutor John McNally said: “Ms Sakyiwaa put her hands on her left breast and wobbled it, saying what is this, is this what you call a breast? She laughed at her and said ‘you have no breasts’, and stuck her tongue out at her as she left.”

On another day, she prodded her breasts and said “I’m young and my breasts are better than yours”.

Ms Massett protested that she wanted to see a different health care assistant because Sakyiwaa was ‘dread’.

“Ms Sakyiwaa took this differently, saying ‘I’m not the dead one, you are the dead one, I’m not dead’,” said Mr McNally.

“She then placed a bed sheet over Ms Massett’s face and said ‘see, you’re the one who is dead.”

She also pushed elderly Elizabeth Toussant, shoving her down into a chair when she refused to be washed.

Giving evidence student nurse Snezana Madvezevic said: “She starts screaming so badly, because she didn’t expect this push. She didn’t say anything, she was just screaming so loud.”

Sakyiwaa also slapped Louise Hodges, 92, when changing her bed clothes. “When she saw there had been soiling, she slapped her on the hip or bottom area, and went on to clean her in a manner that suggested that Ms Hodges was being violent,” Mr McNally said

She was cleared of neglecting four other patients after jurors failed to reach verdicts.
Annette Jackson, 33, of Simpson Road, Hounslow and Sharmila Gunda, 36, of Horns Road, Barkingside were also found guilty of seven charges of neglecting the women in their care.

Jackson was found guilty of one count of neglecting patient Barbara Jones, but cleared of four other charges.Gunda was found guilty of one charge of neglect but she was cleared of exposing Joan Musset to the ward by leaving her curtains open, and dropping her out of bed by moving her roughly.

The nursing assistants had insisted the allegations were made up, with Sakyiwaa claiming she treated everyone in her care like her own family.

They had denied all the charges against them. Judge Timothy Lamb QC granted them bail ahead of sentence on August 23.