Carers secretly filmed 'torturing' comfort dolls dementia sufferers thought were real

Footage emerges after Care Quality Commission warning the facility was inadequate

A report had said the home "required improvement" on four counts out of five (Google Street View)

Two carers have been filmed taunting dementia patients by pretending to torture and kill their therapy "comfort dolls" in a nursing home.

The pair, who worked at Asbourne House near Manchester, filmed elderly residents reacting as they kicked and "hung" the doll babies many residents used as comfort objects.

When the two women shared the pictures among colleagues in a WhatsApp group, a whistleblower took the images to the Manchester Evening News - which in turn informed the home's management.

Yet Silverdale Care Homes, which oversees the facility, had already been informed via a Care Quality Commission report that almost all aspects of the residency "required improvement".

The whistleblower said many residents believed the dolls were real and would have been very distressed.

"I just don't understand how they could do this," said the insider, who asked to remain anonymous.

"I was so shocked when I saw the images. Some of these residents think the dolls are real babies. I've no doubt this really upset some of them."

One of the carers prepares to throw a "comfort doll" at the feet of an elderly resident to "upset" her (Manchester Evening News, YouTube)

In the footage, one of the women films another as she throws a doll down in front of a resident.

The carer filming asks her colleague: "How do you feel that you've just done that? How do you feel?"

Her colleague laughs and says: "Great, because [resident's name] is upset."

Other pictures show the dolls being boiled in a pan, hung up by the neck on a branch and put in a tumble dryer.

The whistleblower said they believed it had been a "daft" joke that had got "carried away".

A carer throws the doll at the feet on one of the residents, many of whom have dementia (Manchester Evening News, YouTube)

Silverdale Care Homes told the Manchester Evening News the two women had faced disciplinary action and lost their jobs.

"We take this very, very seriously," a spokesman for the home said.

"People like this should not be working in the care industry. We have taken immediate action and the appropriate authorities have been informed. We will ensure the people involved in this unfortunate incident are reported - and there will be a full investigation."

Silverdale Care Homes had already been warned of poor standards of care at Ashbourne House in Middleton by a Care Quality Commission report.

The report in September 2015 said safety, effectiveness, care and leadership all "required improvement".

Unreported abuse inside care homes was brought to public attention in 2012 when workers at care home Winterbourne View were jailed for subjecting residents to a "miserable existence."