In 2005, 87-year-old dementia sufferer Evelyn Jones died in agony after suffering from a huge sore across her lower back, which hospital staff described as “the worst they had seen”.
Jones is one of the seven residents who died while staying at the Brithdir home near Bargoed, Caerphilly county between 2003 and 2005, and authorities are investigating the matter.
An inquest in Newport, Gwent is hearing evidence after the families of the deceased reported that the residents suffered from dehydration, malnourishment and pressure sores.
In Jones’ case, she was admitted to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil for urinary tract infection, but the hospital staff found something more.
“The day following my mother’s admission to the Prince Charles Hospital my daughter Ruth attended the hospital to see her grandmother,” Jones’ daughter Marina Walters shared.
“Upon arrival she was informed by staff on the ward that my mother had very bad bed sores – the worst they had ever seen.”
“They had taken photographs and as a result of them being so bad the hospital had contacted social services and the police,” she added.
The care home staff did not inform Walters about the bedsores, and said that they were aware of “two little marks” on her mother when she confronted them.
“When visiting I would see her sitting in the lounge and she would be sat in an uncomfortable position, propped up with cushions,” Walters added.
“She always looked uncomfortable within her chair and when I tried to sit her up in the chair she would cry out, saying, ‘No, no, no, no’.”
A pathologist ruled that Jones died from sepsis due to infected pressure sores, as well as from immobility and dehydration.
The inquest, which will last until March, is also looking at the deaths of Stanley James, 89, June Hamer, 71, Stanley Bradford, 76, Edith Evans, 85, and William Hickman, 71.