Bogus carer who locked up patient sent to jail; Carer left mentallyill man alone.

Byline: Nick McCarthy

A BOGUS carer who locked up a severely mentally-ill patient in a bedroom and disappeared for four hours has been jailed.

Daniel Olum, from Northfield, was arrested when he returned to the West Heath house where he should have been providing 24-hour care for the seriously-ill man.

Police forced entry to the house in Shipston Road at 11pm on Sunday night after they were called in by a worried neighbour who heard the disabled patient screaming, shouting and banging on the walls.

Olum, aged 23, was jailed for four months by Birmingham Magistrates for ill-treatment and the willful neglect of somebody without the mental capacity to care for himself Olum, of Bromford Dell, Lindsey Avenue, was also handed a concurrent three month sentence for producing false documents to gain employment in 2006 after police discovered he lied to get the job. Today, Birmingham City Council said it was working with the police who had investigated the incident. A council spokeswoman said: "In this case, care services have been contracted from an external provider and have not been directly provided by Birmingham City Council.

"We have received notification of this incident and are working with the police as they investigate. That is all we are saying on this issue at the moment. "If anyone who is receiving care in their own home has concerns about the care they are receiving, or if they have concerns about a friend or relative, they should contact their social worker or social work team." A neighbour called police because he saw Olum leave the house and heard increasing screams and shouts from the patient in an upstairs bedroom. The patientwas taken away in an ambulance after he suffered self inflicted cuts to his head and has since returned with a new team of care staff. The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "Somebody in a senior position should be held accountable for this. "It shows a total lack of respect. Anybody who would do that is clearly in the wrong job.

"I don't know the full nature of his disability, but he has a severe mental illness. We often hear crying, shouting and screaming, but on Sunday itwas different. It was very loud and disturbing and we noticed that the carers' car was not outside the house. "We called police because we thought he was on his own. An ambulance arrived and took himaway. "He looked like he had hurt his own head because hewas bleeding above his eye.

"His carer,who I have spoken to before and who said he was a team leader, turned up at 3am. He was led away in handcuffs." AWest Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "Police were called shortly after 11pm by neighbours who were concerned for the welfare of a disabled man. "Officers forced entry into the house and found a 48-year-old man who was alone inside the property. "A 23-year-old man was arrested a short time later." OUR SAY: PAGE 24