A nursing home worker said she has “lost faith” in the care system after being cleared of assaulting a 101-year-old resident.
A jury found Sharon Parkinson not guilty of attacking centenarian Rose Trigg during an alleged incident.
After the three-day hearing at Leeds Crown Court Ms Parkinson said she was considering her legal options over the way she was dismissed from Ashgrove House, Sandal, Wakefield.
She told the YEP: “My life has been torn to bits with this charge hanging over me. It has made me sick and I have been on anti-depressants.
“I will never go back there. It has put me off for life. I have lost faith in the caring system.”
Ms Parkinson added: “The last three days have been awful. Since being arrested people have pulled me up in the street and said they do not believe it. I have just tried to keep myself to myself. I would like to thank them for their support.”
During the trial the jury were read letters of testimony on Ms Parkinson’s behalf from people she had looked after when she worked as a mobile carer before joining Ashgrove House.
One was from a 98-year-old man whose life Ms Parkinson helped to save when she resuscitated him after he collapsed.
The prosecution claimed Ms Parkinson’s colleagues saw her gripping Miss Trigg’s arm with “unnecessary force and digging in near the elbow” on June 19 last year. It was alleged she “took out her frustrations” on the dementia sufferer after losing her temper with another resident.
Ms Parkinson, of Heseltine Close, Normanton, gave evidence at the trial to deny any responsibility for causing Miss Trigg’s injuries.
She told the court Miss Trigg had grabbed her own arm and caused the injuries to herself as she and her colleague were assisting her.
Her barrister Michael Collins asked: “Were you responsible for any of the injuries to Miss Trigg?” She replied: “No”.
Prosecutor Dave MacKay said to Parkinson: “It was a job you found tiring, emotionally, mentally and physically.”
She replied: “No. It was the same as any other job. No difference. Plus we had the back-up of staff.”
She also denied claims she had been short tempered and had sworn in front of residents.
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