Overview

• Bilikesu Olagunju was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court for physically and verbally abusing 88-year-old dementia patient John Attard, with CCTV showing her throwing him like a rag doll and making threats.
• Judge Charlotte Welsh suspended Olagunju’s six-week prison sentence for 18 months and ordered 50 hours of unpaid work, noting her lack of training and genuine remorse as mitigating factors.
• John Attard was found unresponsive with facial injuries the day after the documented abuse and died in hospital ten days later, although post-mortem evidence could not conclusively link the abuse to his death.
• A May 2023 Care Quality Commission inspection rated Unique Personnel’s leadership as inadequate and cited unsafe care practices, insufficient staff training and poor handling of complaints.
• The case prompted regulatory warnings and renewed scrutiny of vetting procedures and safeguarding protocols across elderly care services.