Police are urging victims of elder abuse to come forward, as an aged care worker on the Northern Beaches is accused of assaulting a resident.

A 35-year-old Hornsby man has been arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting an elderly man at a Bupa care home at Seaforth.

Cameras set up by the family of the aged care resident captured the moments he was assaulted, allegedly by the employee.

The footage shows the 82-year-old man being repeatedly hit with a shoe, being grabbed by the shirt and even forced off his bed.

NSW Police Detective Acting Inspector Guy Magee has told Ben Fordham “this form of elder abuse is disgraceful and cowardly”.

Mr Magee says the video “is quite hard to watch, I can only imagine what it’s like for the family to watch…it’s going to a valuable piece of evidence for our prosecution”.

Elder abuse is a fairly underreported crime in NSW, with Mr Magee telling Ben their “research suggests there are probably 50,000 older people in NSW that have been abused… and only one in five cases are ever reported”.

“I’d definitely encourage people to be as brave as this family and this victim and come forward.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

The 35-year-old male employee has been charged with two counts of common assault and use offensive weapon with intent to commit indictable offence.

The man was granted conditional bail and will appear at Manly Local Court on Tuesday 11 September 2018.

Photo: NSW Police