A woman who secretly filmed shocking neglect suffered by her 98-year-old grandmother at a care home has spoken of her “disgust” at learning a nurse at the centre of the scandal has been suspended for just six months.

Vanessa Evans placed a covert camera inside Yvonne Grant’s room at Oban House, South Croydon, in December 2012 after becoming concerned about the level of care at the home.

The harrowing footage she captured revealed a catalogue of neglect and abuse: on one occasion, staff members left Ms Grant crying out for help more than 320 times in just one hour.

In others sections of the footage, nurse Violet Arthur John can be seen repeatedly ignoring the desperate pleas of the 98-year-old great-grandmother to go to the toilet and failing to treat her for a bleeding pressure sore.

The former seamstress, of Shirley, died at the nursing home a month after the footage was filmed.

On her daily visits to the care home, in Bramley Hill, Ms Evans, now 45, also witnessed the nurse abandon her shift without carrying out a proper handover and referring to another patient at the care home as “that other one”. 

The nurse also failed to act when Ms Evans pointed out pressure stockings worn by Ms Grant were far too tight and were cutting into her legs, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct panel heard.

The panel found Ms John had caused Ms Grant “actual, psychological harm” and “lacked fundamental empathy” despite 40 years experience as a nurse.

But the NMC ruled her “misconduct was not fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register” and said Ms John – who continued to work while awaiting the disciplinary hearing – could return to nursing in six months.

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The footage recorded by Vanessa Evans was featured in a Panorama documentary about care home abuse

Speaking this week after learning of the suspension, Ms Evans, who gave evidence at the hearing, expressed relief the ordeal was “finally over”.

But she said: “I’m disgusted it’s only six months. And disgusted that, for the past three-and-a-half years, she’s still been working in care.

“They said she’s had more training – but she’s been nursing for 40 years. That should all be in place. It’s shocking.”

As part of her defence, Ms John’s legal team submitted a number of testimonials about the nurse, including two related to her current employment.

In her evidence to the NMC, Ms John described Ms Grant as a “nice pleasant lady who was always appreciative when things were done for her”.

In another incident captured on film, the nurse can be seen pushing medication into Ms Grant’s mouth while singing aloud to herself, ignoring the elderly lady when she tries to thank her.

Following the disturbing revelations contained in Ms Evan’s footage, which featured in a 2014 BBC Panorama investigation into abuse in care homes, two Oban House staff members were convicted of common assault for their treatment of Ms Grant.

RELATED: Care home in South Croydon apologises for neglecting 98-year-old resident

Her granddaughter chose to plant the camera after becoming increasingly concerned with the standard of care at Oban House, including by the discovery of mysterious bruising on Ms Grant’s body.

Ms Evans said her grandmother had told her: “They’re nice when you’re here but as soon as you’ve gone that’s it, they’re horrible.”

Describing the treatment of residents at the care home, Ms Evans said: “They weren’t people, they were just numbers.”

The NMC panel said that Ms John also had “attitudinal issues” and found her evidence to be “inconsistent and vague”, while her “apologies and explanations lacked conviction”.

It judged that Ms John’s “recollections appeared to some extent to be selective” and “took into account that at times during your oral evidence you became animated and aggressive”. 

Following the public furore that accompanied the broadcast of Ms Evan’s footage and the scrutiny of operators HC One, Oban House was taken over by another provider, Avery Healthcare.

The nursing home was forced to close for refurbishment last year after Avery found the building did not meet environmental and safety standards.

Ms Evans said she hoped that exposing the horrific treatment her grandmother suffered would help to prevent similar cases of abuse.

But she is still wracked with a sense of guilt about what happened at Oban House.

She said: “I was the one who finally decided which care home to put her in.

“It’s a nightmare. It is the first thing on your mind in the morning, and the last thing on your mind at night.”

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