A nurse has admitted making a brief ‘lapse’ in judgement when she made derogatory comments towards a vulnerable patient while she was being restrained.

Karen McGhee referred to the woman’s weight while staff at Whorlton Hall pinned her to the ground whilst trying to calm down the agitated patient.

The 54-year-old mother-of-two accepted she should not have made the comment when she was giving evidence at Teesside Crown Court.

McGhee is one of nine former members of staff at the specialist hospital, which has since closed down, facing charges after an undercover BBC reporter captured them allegedly ill-treating patients.

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Filmed over several weeks, the reporter captured the defendants tormenting one distressed patient who was seen to scream in anguish and hit herself as staff encouraged her or threatened to remove all female staff.

Olivia Davies worked as a care assistant at the unit near Barnard Castle while recording the actions of staff, including McGhee.

Footage showed several members of staff restraining the agitated patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after she became increasingly volatile and screamed continually.

The Northern Echo: Karen McGheeKaren McGhee (Image: The Northern Echo)

Josh Normanton, representing McGhee, asked the defendant about her attitude towards the patient.

She replied: “I had a good attitude towards her.”

When asked why she had made the reference to her weight, the nurse replied: “Things happened that quickly, it was a lapse of me being professional. Looking back, I shouldn’t have said it.”

The Northern Echo: Whorlton HallWhorlton Hall

Earlier in the trial, One of the charges against the nurse was thrown out after a judge ruled there was no chance of a conviction.

She was formally cleared of a charge relating to the restraint of one of the patients when another member of staff is accused of passing around chewing gum while the man is one the floor.

The defendants now face a total of 26 offences after the reporter used a hidden camera at the 17-bed independent unit for people with complex needs in January and February 2019.

The accused are:

• John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington, faces two charges of care worker ill-treatment or wilful neglect of an individual on February 2 and 25, 2019.

• Darren Mark Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington, by virtue of being a care worker, allegedly ill-treated or wilfully neglected a patient on January 27, 2019, and faces the same charge relating to a different patient on February 2.

• Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, is accused of the ill-treatment or wilful neglect of a patient on two occasions on January 20 and 24, 2019.

• Sarah Banner, 33, from Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, stands accused of three charges of ill-treatment or neglect of a female in her care on January 24 and of a male patient the following day.

• Matthew Banner, 43, of the same Newton Aycliffe address, faced six charges all relating to the same patient at Whorlton Hall on separate occasions between January 6 and February 22.

• Ryan Fuller, 27, from of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle, faced ten charges of ill-treatment or wilful neglect against six different patients January 19 and February 2.

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• Sabah Mahmood, 27, of Woodland Crescent, Kelloe, is accused of, by virtue of being a care worker, ill-treating or wilfully neglecting a male patient on January 4, 2019.

• Peter Bennett, 53, of Redworth Road, Billingham, faced three charges in total relating to two female patients, on January 6 and February 24.

• Karen McGhee, 54, from Wildair Close, Darlington, faced a total of four charges relating to a male and a female patient which were all said to have happened in January 2019.

The trial continues.