‘Care’ Home – Yr Doin It Wrong

A care worker convicted of assault is fighting for his life after throwing himself off a court balcony at the end of his trial.

Thomas McKenna, 36, had just been told he faced jail for assaulting 89-year-old dementia sufferer Nancy Horton at the nursing home where he worked.

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports and he was released on bail, due to be sentenced in three weeks' time.

But McKenna went straight to the court building's second-floor concourse, where he vaulted a 3ft glass railing and fell 40ft to the marble floor below.

He lay screaming in a pool of blood as stunned lawyers and court officials called the emergency services.

Hope they didn’t rush…

Oh, and the ‘reason’ for the assault? Well, it seems McKenna took the Eddie Izzard catchphrase ‘Cake or death?’ a little too literally:

McKenna, 36, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, found himself in the dock facing a charge of causing grievous bodily harm when he used two hands to push Mrs Horton when she asked him for a second cake from a tea trolley.

He refused to let her have the cake because she had diabetes, the court heard.
Frail Mrs Horton, who is 4ft 11in tall, was seriously injured as she fell on to a wall leaving blood pouring from her arm.

Oh, well, he was obviously doing it for her own good…

No wonder there is a growing concern over the running of care homes and the prospects for elderly dementia patients, if homes continue to employ people like McKenna.

Needless to say, his defence was ‘This frail 89-year old woman attacked me!’:

McKenna denied pushing Mrs Horton or assaulting her. Instead he claimed she had struck him and then overbalanced.

But the jury found him guilty of the offence after an eye witness said he had pushed her over.

Here’s hoping the hospital he’s being treated at has a good MRSA record. Wouldn’t want him to get anything nasty while he’s there, would we…