Nursing home criticised after elderly woman's death

A nursing home has been criticised after the death of an elderly woman who’d been under its care, an inquest in Coleraine heard today.

The Department of Health’s Registration and Inspection Unit was called in to carry out a formal investigation following complaints by the family of Mrs Myrtle Carr, aged 92, who died at the Cromore Nursing Home in Portstewart in February last year, just over a month after she was found by night shift staff lying on the floor beside her bed.

Two days after falling she was eventually admitted to the accident and emergency department at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine and then later to Altnagelvin in Derry with a fractured left femur.

However, because of her frail condition she was not considered fit for surgery.

Mrs Carr formerly of Drumcroone Road, Coleraine was readmitted to the Causeway Hospital where her condition deteriorated and she died on February 8, 2005. She had also been suffering from dementia and advanced arthritis of the knees.

The coroner John Leckey was told that initially it could not be clinically established Mrs Carr suffered a fracture.

It was not unusual for elderly people to fall and it was difficult to diagnose because she could still weight bear with some difficulty. Mrs Carr was found on her bedroom floor in the early hours of January 11, 2005 but was not admitted to hospital until January 13.

This was after she was visited by her GP who said clinical examination and assessment was difficult due to her advanced dementia. However, he was concerned she very possibly had a fractured pelvis and he arranged for her to be transferred to hospital.

Her eldest daughter Mrs Eileen McAfee said the family had selected the Cromore Nursing Home after being assured her mother would be offered more nursing care, more staff and better equipment.

However, she didn’t become aware her mother had fallen until the following night and this had been after she had found her in a distressed state and slumped in a chair.

The inquest heard that after Mrs Carr’s death the Registration and Inspection Unit was called in to carry out a formal investigation following family complaints about the way she had been treated between the time she fell and her admission to hospital.

An allegation that the nursing home failed to notify the family when Mrs Carr fell had been substantiated, the inquest heard.

Further allegations that the home failed to seek medical advice or medical intervention until family members requested it; that adequate pain relief was not provided between the time of her fall and her admission to hospital and that poor communication in the home was contributory to neglect were also substantiated according to conclusions in a 17 page report prepared by the Registration and Inspection Unit.

Mrs McAfee told the inquest that she had been vindicated after lodging complaints. She told the coroner: “There are a lot of old people out there who need good care and proper attention.”