Sydney nursing home worker Prakash Paudyal who was caught on a hidden camera assaulting an 82-year old dementia patient has won an appeal against his 4 month prison sentence and will now be released.
The assaults that were caught on hidden camera occurred between August 26 and September 3 at the Bupa Seaforth facility and depicted the 36-year-old nursing home worker roughly pulling an 82-year-old man with dementia by his shirt and assaulting him with a shoe.
It was also revealed in court late last year that in another incident, the victim David Nabulsi, fell to the floor from his bed due to the actions of Mr. Paudyal, who then proceeded to strip the victim’s bed while the 82-year-old remained lying on the ground.
Mr. Pradyul, who was imprisoned close to a month ago, will now walk free from the meager 4-month sentence after his defense team argued that the Nepalese national was a “victim of the system.”
And that he was “never given any training on how to handle dementia patients.”
The facts, in this case, stated that the victims’ daughter had placed a hidden camera disguised as a photo frame in her father’s room after becoming suspicious and concerned about the way he was being treated.
The 82-year-old victim had previously lost his ability to speak and understand English which made it hard for him to communicate with staff.
Prakash Paudyal was fired from his job at the aged care facility and has been banned from working in the aged care industry as a condition of his bail.
1 Month in Jail?
People who care for the vulnerable undertake a massive responsibility that requires complete and utter trust.
A large portion of aged care residents rely on staff to ensure their wellbeing, so any violation of this should be viewed far more harshly than other common crimes.
While seeing someone actually receive jail time for common assault in Australia is quite rare, the idea that someone who has been convicted and caught on camera attacking a vulnerable 82-year-old should spend one month behind bars is farcical.
It’s hard to imagine that we would be seeing someone receive the same level of leniency if the hidden camera footage showed a grown man assaulting an infant, and this is a stark reminder of how just how little regard is placed on the vale of elderly people in this country.
Sentencing for crimes with elderly victims should incur far greater penalties, similar to the punishments given to those who have committed crimes against children.
Both age groups rely on society to ensure their quality of life, and both age groups deserve to have their welfare seen as sacred.
Mr. Paudyal who has now been released from Cooma prison will instead serve a seven-month Intensive Corrections Order from the comfort of his own home.
Which is rather ironic when you consider the fact that Mr. Pradyul was charged with assaulting an elderly person and making the victim uncomfortable whilst in their home.
Will CCTV Help In Solving Aged Care Problems?
The thought of installing CCTV in the rooms of the elderly raises a number of different questions.
On the one hand, the elderly are adults. So in theory, decisions regarding their own safety and privacy should ultimately be left up to them.
And this definitely rings true for people who still have the ability to make uncompromised decisions.
But there are a large number of residents within aged care facilities that are living with a mental disability or are simply unable to communicate their thoughts.
And these are the types of people that are most likely to be taken advantage of.
The inability to gain true consent from some elderly people makes the topic of CCTV a murky subject matter, despite the obvious benefits that it may have.
In cases like this one involving Mr. Paudyal, there may have been no definitive evidence that any wrongdoing had occurred if the victims’ daughter did not make the choice to place a hidden camera in her father’s room.
Mr.Nabulsi’ inability to communicate with staff meant that the only evidence of mistreatment prior to the assaults was the appearance of bruises and changes of his behavior, and these are nuanced signs that can easily be missed.
And even though hidden CCTV managed to capture the employee committing these assaults, there is a school of thought that suggests that the known presence of CCTV cameras and the fear of being captured on film may have the ability to prevent incidents like these in the first place.
The topic of CCTV cameras in aged care falls in line with the recent public outcries for further transparency within the aged care sector as a whole.
There is currently a stigma that aged care facilities try to shield the public from their inner workings, which is unfortunate because this stigma often affects the majority of hardworking and selfless aged care employees who do their best to ensure the safety of wellbeing of our elderly.
It’s important to remember, that horrible incidents like this are rare in aged care facilities, and they are far removed from the vast majority of caring aged care employees who walk the halls within facilities.
And if staff ratios and CCTV became part of the landscape within the aged care sector, one thing that these things would clearly show is just how hard the nurses and carers of this country are working, and why they deserve our utmost respect.
But with safety being the primary focus within aged care facilities, I think that most families would welcome the opportunity and peace of mind that would come from having the extra layer of scrutiny that a camera could provide. Even if it comes at their own expense.
Let’s just hope that if this does eventually happen, those who are caught taking advantage of elderly residents actually receive a level of punishment befitting of the crime.
I think that the cameras should be in the rooms.If the resident was able to communicate and didn`t want it then that would be okay.
My husband is in aged care,and if this assault had happened to him,and the care worker was given a 4 month sentence and let out after a month,I would be screaming for somebody`s head to roll.These people in nursing homes,have to be safe.