Nursing home staff more interested in smoking than caring for sick residents, inquest told
A coroner has heard how a woman with dementia was neglected by staff at Brithdir Nursing Home in New Tredegar leading her to develop infected sores thought to have contributed to her death
18:03, 21 JAN 2021
A woman with dementia was neglected by nursing home staff and left to develop infected bedsores in the months leading up to her death, an inquest has heard.
June Hamer, 71, died weeks after she was examined by a doctor on her family’s instruction after they became concerned about the lack of care given to her at Brithdir Nursing Home.
But another report following a police investigation into the care he and others received at the home found it was likely that ulcers on his body “made a minor contribution to his death by their effects on his frailty”. Analysis of care plans put in place for Mr James, which showed he had developed a large number of sores from January 2002 and was at “high risk” of developing more, included instructions for care staff to turn him onto a different part of his body every two hours day and night to relieve his pain. But no notes indicting the progress of the plan were ever found, and only a handful of entries were made to his records by staff to show the repositioning had taken place and he was being placed on a pressure-relieving mattress.
Inquest into seven elderly patients who allegedly died of neglect has opened
Doctor Prana Das was accused of neglect and fraud following investigation
But the senior doctor died before he could be brought to justice
A spokesperson for Gwent Coroner s Office said the inquest - which is scheduled to last eight weeks will consider the nature of the care given to the deceased
AN INQUEST into the deaths of residents at the centre of a care homes failings scandal dating back 18 years has been welcomed by a Gwent MP. The inquest will begin on Monday and be held in Newport. It will run until the March 15 and be conducted by HMC Geraint Williams. Mr David has been involved in the issue since 2005 when constituents brought to him concerns about how their relatives were being treated in Holly House Care Home near Maesycwmmer, which was run by Dr Prana Das. When Holly House was closed many of the residents were transferred to Brithdir Nursing Home, (also run by Dr Das) Wayne David pressed for the establishment of Operation Jasmine, an in-depth investigation into care home abuse in South East Wales.