A live-in carer left a paralysed multiple sclerosis sufferer a broken man by subjecting him to harsh verbal and physical assaults, it has been claimed.

Mary Dumble allegedly swore, shouted and poked her employer, referred to as patient A, telling him he was stupid, while she cared for him at his New Malden home, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Patient A, who was paralysed from the neck down and used a wheelchair, had employed her for 15 years to help him eat, drink, wash and travel.

But Miss Dumble, who was not at the hearing and had no representation, became controlling toward him, it was claimed, restricting the people he had contact with.

On one occasion she left him in his wheelchair overnight, the council heard.

The council heard that when Miss Dumble and her boyfriend, who sometimes stayed, were forced to leave after concerns were raised, she then went on to take many of patient A’s personal items, including his passport and the house deeds.

Kingston Council’s integrated health and social care team manager Jenny Colvin gave evidence at the hearing in London on Tuesday, April 17.

She said: “Patient A told us that he could not bear to have Miss Dumble in his house any longer.

“He received verbal abuse on a regular basis for no apparent reason.

“He was very distressed. Just by his facial expressions and the tone of his voice, to me he was just a broken man.”

The committee also heard Miss Dumble kept the telephone on the floor, out of patient A’s reach, and stuck a note on it saying “do not answer”, to stop his other carers speaking to social services.

It also heard Miss Dumble would wake patient A up at 5am to wash and dress him before she left him to go and work at Westminster Primary Care Trust and his neighbours reported hearing Miss Dumble shout and swear at him most mornings.

Mrs Colvin said: “They said the language Miss Dumble used was terrible, she spoke to him like a child and called him a stupid fool.”

Senior social worker June Kelly worked as a part time assistant for patient A for about four years and said the she thought the pair could have been in a relationship.

She said: “I wondered if they were an item. I could never be sure, no one could. They had good times, they went on holiday together but that deteriorated, I think the bubble burst for patient A.”

She said when Miss Dumble was evicted from patient A’s home, after the alleged incidents between 2008 and 2009, she took many of his personal items including his passport and the house deeds.

The hearing continues.