Doctor found guilty of punching dementia patient at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

A doctor who punched a dementia patient has been found guilty of ill-treatment by a care worker.

Locum doctor, Xowi Mwimbi, 68 punched the patient to the side of the head and pushed his head into a pillow on August 26, 2021.

The patient, who had dementia and limited motor functions, had a care plan in place for his complex needs.

This included an instruction not to get too close to him as it caused him distress.

Staff present also advised Dr Mwimbi to stand back, but he ignored them.

When Dr Mwimbi approached the patient, the patient made a racial comment, as he was known to do as part of his complex conditions, and told Dr Mwimbi to leave the room.

Dr Mwimbi failed to listen causing the patient to react by swinging his arm towards him making scarce contact.

Dr Mwimbi in turn reacted by punching the patient to the left temple and pressing his head into the pillow.

Care staff who were present quickly intervened and reported the assault.

In a police interview, Dr Mwimbi said the patient had hit him and racially abused him so he had acted in self-defence.

He was surprised and shocked to hear the care staff present were telling stories about him and that it is all a figment of their imagination.

The Crown Prosecution Service presented evidence to the court that the incident would not have arisen if Dr Mwimbi had followed the care plan and that the patient scarcely made contact with the doctor due to his lack of mobility.

The jury concluded that the doctor was not acting in self-defence and found him guilty of ill-treatment by a care worker following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Sazeeda Ismail, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Dr Xowi Mwimbi demonstrated a gross breach of his duty of care, when in anger he used excessive force against an extremely vulnerable man.

"His actions traumatised those who witnessed the incident. I would like to thank those witnesses for their quick action in intervening and reporting what they had seen.

"It is thanks to them that we have been able to bring Dr Mwimbi to justice for his despicable actions."

Mwimbi is due to be sentenced on May 15.

A spokesperson for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals said: "This was clearly an upsetting incident and I would like to apologise for the distress caused to the patient and their family, as well as colleagues who witnessed it, intervened and immediately reported it to the Police.

 "This doctor was covering a shift as a locum and not a permanent member of the team who place paramount importance on providing a caring, safe and respectful environment.

"I am very grateful the matter has been dealt with so quickly by all involved and reassure local people this is not the high standard of treatment they can expect from the Trust."