Two care workers slapped dementia patients in a campaign of abuse, a court has heard.
On Friday, Helen Burridge, 62, and Amy Dickinson, 24, were jailed for 30 months for subjecting elderly and vulnerable residents to "humiliating and degrading" treatment at Riddlesden Rest Home in Keighley, West Yorkshire.
Burridge, the care home manager, was convicted of ill-treating four residents, while Dickinson, a senior care assistant, mistreated seven people in her care.
Detectives arrested the pair after an employee reported concerns about what was happening at the 10-bedroom care home in December 2019.
Ashleigh Metcalfe, prosecuting, said an 84-year-old woman was locked in her room and another vulnerable woman had a pillow or inflatable exercise ball thrown at them.
Ms Metcalfe told Bradford Crown Court: "Both defendants, we say, provided care which fell far below that which is expected for a care worker."
Ms Metcalfe said one dementia sufferer was described by Burridge as "a greedy cow" after she took a piece of bread from another resident's plate. Burridge pushed the woman back into her chair and "slapped" her with the back of her hand.
Another woman, 86, who also suffered from dementia, was said to have had difficulty eating, but the defendants called her "an idiot" and became angry if she took too long with her food.
The court heard that another woman was not permitted to have lights on in her room even though she was left sitting in the dark on her own for large periods of time.
Ms Metcalfe described how two bed-bound residents, a 90-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man, were left in heavily soiled clothing. A former employee claimed that when she went into the man's room she was met with "a horrible rancid smell".
Dickinson was said to have demonstrated "the pillow game" to a co-worker by throwing a pillow at the head of a 72-year-old woman with dementia.
The court heard that Dickinson was accused of destroying another female resident's medication by dissolving it in boiling water or throwing it in the bin rather than administering it. Later the resident was taken to hospital after the care worker "hesitantly" called emergency services, but she died in hospital a week later.
Riddlesden Rest Home was a specialist care home looking after up to 10 residents aged 65 and over, all but one had dementia. Following the police investigation the home was put in special measures and subsequently closed.
A jury convicted both women of several counts of ill treatment after a 17-day trial on Sept 26, 2024.
Det Con Polly Churchman, of Bradford District Police, said: "We welcome the sentences handed down today to Burridge and Dickinson.
"These elderly residents should have been in a place of safety and should have been well cared for. The care they provided was appalling and fell way short of the high standards you would expect in a facility like this.
"I would like to praise the care worker who came forward and reported these crimes to us.
"This has been a lengthy investigation and I would like to pay tribute to the elderly residents and their families for their patience throughout the process and I hope today's sentence can give them some closure."