A 30-year-old Cranbourne West man is due to face Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on 21 February 2019 for a contest mention hearing regarding two counts of unlawful assault.
The man, a former nurse employed by Caulfield hospital was caught on camera abusing a defenseless patient suffering from cerebral palsy and recovering from a car accident.
Billy Aivaliotis, 33, after being treated in the Royal Melbourne Hospital immediately after he was struck by a car, was transferred to Caulfield hospital by his family to receive care.
The incident was revealed when the Aivaliotis family, concerned about the patient’s weight-loss and signs of bruising hid a camera in a picture frame after their persistent attempts to raise the matter with staff kept kept being ignored.
Indeed, on 22 January, the footage from the secret camera revealed a male nurse grabbing Mr Aivaliotis by the throat, before moving him aggressively on to a bed at 8.06am that day. At 8.10am the nurse stood over Mr Aivaliotis attempting to clean him, but forcefully pushed the patient in the neck or face area.
The family shared the story with the Herald Sun, which was also later aired on the Current Affair.
The male nurse does not work at the hospital anymore and following a thorough investigation, a report in July made 26 recommendations which Alfred health promised to implement by the end of the year.
In a statement, the Aivaliotis family said: “To leave a loved on in the care if a hospital and their staff demands total trust and support, which we were committed to. After this devastating realisation, we have absolutely no faith in this broken and failed system of care. We had to take matters into our own hands after zero action from the hospital. Billy cannot voice his feelings. He is incapable of demonstrating his fears and concerns. His family is his voice, and we do everything possible to ensure his safety and well-being.”
