Care Worker Struck Off After Hidden Camera Exposed Threats to Dementia Patient at Inverness Home

A care worker at a Highland care home has been removed from the social care register after a hidden camera captured her threatening and mocking an elderly resident with dementia. Amina Sani was found to have threatened an 81-year-old bedbound man with police action and warned him that a male colleague might hit him when he became distressed during an attempt to shower him against his wishes.

The incidents took place at Castlehill Care Home in Inverness on 10 April last year and only came to light when the resident's daughter, Su Christie, installed a covert camera in her father's room because she was worried about the quality of his care. The footage later formed part of a BBC documentary examining standards at the home, in which families levelled accusations of cruelty and neglect against the facility.

Sani, who is Nigerian, carried out the man's intimate personal care while a cleaner held his arms down, the hearing was told. At one stage she pulled his duvet away without warning, leaving him agitated and upset. The panel also heard that she and another carer could be seen laughing during the encounter.

The Scottish Social Services Council, which regulates care workers north of the border, convened a misconduct hearing to consider Sani's fitness to practise. Her legal representative argued that she had been let down by her employer and had not received proper training during what was her first job in the UK. The representative told the panel that her client wanted to apologise to the family.

However, hearing chairman Iain Burke described the treatment of the resident as a significant abuse of trust and power, adding that Sani had shown no insight into her conduct or remorse for it. He said her attitude and behaviour were fundamentally incompatible with registration as a social care worker, clearing the way for her removal from the register.

Giving evidence at the hearing, Su Christie explained that her father, a former merchant navy crewman, had a lifelong fear of showers rooted in a childhood trauma. The video, which ran for more than 20 minutes, showed Sani repeatedly telling him he was to be showered while he screamed "no" and "leave me alone" before swearing at the two carers.

The panel concluded that Sani told the resident words to the effect of "we will call the police and they will take you to court" and, referring to a male cleaner, asked whether he thought that man was going to hit him. Members also found that she used no de-escalation techniques at any point, despite the man's distress escalating visibly throughout the interaction.

Delivering the judgment, Burke acknowledged that the employer had failed Sani and that institutional failure was a factor in the case. Even so, he stressed that no failings on the part of the care home absolved her of her personal responsibility as a registered social care worker. He noted that the footage showed no kindness or compassion towards the resident, and that the laughter appeared disrespectful rather than shared with him.

The chairman added that the panel believed Sani's treatment of the man could not be remedied through further training because it reflected her underlying attitude. The panel found that the resident had suffered harm and that his dignity had not been respected. Sani now faces being struck off, meaning she can no longer work as a registered social care worker in Scotland.

Morar Living, which owns the home, said it acted promptly once concerns were raised and rejected as untrue Sani's claim that she had not been properly trained. Castlehill, which has since been renamed Morar Highland, was graded "good" in its most recent inspection, suggesting the current operators have made improvements since the period covered by the BBC investigation.

Reacting to the ruling, Christie said the decision was the right one. She acknowledged the panel's comments about institutional failures but stressed that the hearing concerned Sani's own accountability. In her view, the outcome sends a clear message that personal responsibility matters in care settings, where people living with dementia should be treated with respect and dignity.

She described watching the footage as devastating, saying she was in shock because although she already knew there were problems with her father's care, she had not expected to see anything like what the camera recorded. She said it was clear from his words and actions that his distress grew steadily and that no one made any attempt to calm him or bring the situation under control.

Christie, who moved her father to a different home shortly after the incident, said he had been a frightened and confused man living with dementia who did not understand what was happening to him. Her decision to install the camera, made out of concern for his welfare, ultimately provided the evidence that ended Sani's career in social care and prompted wider scrutiny of standards at the home.

The case forms part of a broader examination of care quality at Castlehill, which the BBC investigated in a documentary featuring testimony from families who alleged cruelty and neglect. A separate report from the care watchdog later indicated that the home, under its new name, was making progress on improvements, a development that followed sustained public and regulatory attention on the treatment of vulnerable residents.

For families of people living with dementia, the ruling highlights the value of vigilance and, in some cases, covert monitoring when concerns arise. It also underscores the responsibilities that come with registration as a social care worker, including the duty to treat residents with compassion even when they are distressed, resistant to care, or unable to articulate their needs.

The Scottish Social Services Council's decision means Sani can no longer practise as a registered social care worker, closing a case that began with a daughter's fear for her father and ended with a formal finding that his dignity had been violated by the person paid to care for him.