Woman who died following kidney infection was neglected by care home

A 73-year-old woman who died after developing an acute kidney infection was neglected by her care home, an inquest has found.

Christine Vaughan died on March 28, 2017 after suffering a bladder problem which developed into a kidney infection as she lay in bed at Giltbrook Care Home in Nottingham, NottinghamshireLive reported.

The inquest’s jury ruled unanimously that the home had neglected the 73-year-old, citing a failure to get medical advice or take a urine sample despite being asked to do so five times by a GP.

The jury said: “Poor record keeping and falsified records resulted in missing Christine’s weight loss, possibly reduced intake and poor personal hygiene.

“No holistic care plan was created for Christine’s needs, lack of effective leadership, training and not following medical advice – all possibly contributed to Christine’s death.”

Mrs Vaughan’s family issued a statement that read: “We entrusted others to provide the specialist care she deserved. It is not difficult to think that when she needed it the most she was let down.

“It has been incredibly difficult to hear the findings but we thank the coroner and jury for highlighting the failings at the home.

“We appreciate that care home staff work in challenging conditions but it’s vital standards are maintained to ensure residents are treated with the dignity they deserve.”

A spokesperson for the home told CHP: “We acknowledge the findings made at the inquest hearing on 6 December 2019 and we wish to reiterate our condolences to the family of Mrs Vaughan. We are fully committed to maintaining a high standard of care at all times and strive to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our residents.

“Since 2017, the home has invested time and resources in implementing new procedures and policies, as well as hiring new staff at all levels, including a new manager. These changes have been recognised by the Care Quality Commission at their inspection in October 2018, at which the home achieved a rating of Good in the Effective, Caring and Responsive domains. A more recent inspection in November 2019 has again indicated a further improvement in ratings, however, the report for this inspection is yet to be published.”