The daughter of a stroke ward patient drugged by staff to give themselves an ‘easy life’ has told of her fury after one of the healthcare workers was freed just a quarter of the way through her sentence under Labour’s early release scheme.
Charlotte Wilmot, 49, was jailed for three years last December after being convicted of conspiring with senior nurse Catherine Hudson to ill-treat 80-year-old Janet Westhead.
Slamming the pair, a judge said they had targeted the vulnerable widow out of a desire for ‘revenge’ after her daughter complained.
But it has now emerged Wilmott was released on a tag after serving just nine months behind bars under Labour’s plan to release thousands of criminals early in a bid to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis.
Janet Westhead, 80, who died after she was ill-treated by Wilmot and HudsonÂ
Charlotte Wilmot, 49, (pictured) was jailed for three years last December after being convicted of conspiring with senior nurse Catherine Hudson to ill-treat 80-year-old Janet Westhead
WhatsApp messages that were exchanged between Hudson and WilmotÂ
Mrs Westhead (pictured) grew up in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where she worked as a home help before moving to Blackpool
Hudson (right) and Wilmot (left) exchanged messages joking about sedating their patients
Zopiclone (pictured by police) was used to sedate patients for their ‘own amusement’ and an ‘easy life’
Wilmot’s release has infuriated Mrs Westhead’s daughter who attacked ministers for letting her ‘get away with her crimes’.
‘It’s diabolical,’ Susan Cheetham said.
‘I thought she should have been jailed for a lot more than three years for what she did to my mum.
‘But to release her after just nine months in prison is astonishing.
‘What kind of message does it send to the small minority of NHS staff who do harm to patients?
‘Neither of them has ever apologised or shown any remorse.
‘Surely there must be a better solution to prison overcrowding.
‘It’s just a joke.’
Mrs Westhead grew up in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where she worked as a home help before moving to Blackpool.
Some of the WhatsApp messages that were exchanged between the two nursesÂ
In February 2017, Mrs Westhead was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after suffering a mini-stroke.
Pictured: Charlotte Hudson who was jailed for ill-treating patients on a stroke wardÂ
Police were alerted by hospital chiefs in November 2018 after a student nurse on a work placement said Hudson suggested administering unprescribed zopiclone, a sleeping pill, to elderly patient Aileen Scott, who survived the incident
Catherine Hudson (left), 54, and Charlotte Wilmot (right), 48, pictured leaving Preston Crown Court, after they were convicted
She enjoyed an independent retirement despite mild Alzheimer’s symptoms.
But in February 2017 she was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after suffering a mini-stroke.
‘Instead of recovering, she began having terrifying visions, she was seeing spiders climbing up the walls,’ her daughter said.
Her daughter confronted ward staff and discovered her mother had been druggedr with a powerful and potentially lethal sedative, Zopiclone.
In a text message to Hudson later recovered by police, Wilmot branded Mrs Westhead ‘very f****** annoying’ and said she should be given ‘the best sleep she ever had’.
Hudson replied: ‘Permanently.’
Café worker Ms Cheetham complained to the hospital about her mother’s treatment three times, but no action was taken.
A trial heard how the pair – branded ‘pure evil’ by another relative – reacted with ‘contempt’, with Hudson writing: ‘The whole family should f*** off back to Jockland.’
By the time Mrs Westhead was discharged, she was a shadow of her former self and died in a nursing home weighing less than 4st.
Police were finally called in after a horrified student nurse turned whistleblower.
Hudson was convicted of illicitly sedating two patients and stealing medication and jailed for seven years and two months.
Wilmot – an assistant practitioner – was found guilty of conspiring with Hudson to sedate Mrs Westhead and encouraging Hudson to drug another patient.
She previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal medication.
In a statement the Ministry of Justice said: ‘This Government inherited a justice system on the verge of collapse.
‘The worst possible outcome for victims would have been to allow this to happen.’
It stressed that prisoners released under the tagging scheme were risk-assessed first.
