Mum Dies In Agony As Care Home Staff Fail To Notice Her Broken Hip

An 87 year old woman died after staff in an old folks home didn’t realise she had a broken hip. Carers thought Margaret Carroll had injured her ankle when they saw her limping.

They left her suffering for 12 hours until her paramedic son Jim arrived to visit and told them to call an ambulance.

The former home help was rushed to hospital for an emergency operation. She died a few hours later from heart failure. Doctors blamed the 12-hour trauma in the home.

Now a Care Commission inquiry has been launched into the handling of her plight at the BUPA-owned Eastbank home in Shettleston, Glasgow.

Grandmother Margaret, of Sandyhills, moved there three years ago because her family could no longer care for her.

Last week Jim received a letter from BUPA apologising for the “failings which have been identified through your complaint” and promising action to address them.

Jim, who works for Scottish Ambulance, said: “Mum would still be alive if her broken hip had been diagnosed earlier.

“The hospital said she was so traumatised by the broken hip that surgery was too much for her and her heart gave up.

“Staff at Eastbank noticed her limping at 10pm and I visited at 10am the next day.

“She also had cracks in her glasses and a badly bruised elbow from her fall. My last visit was 24 hours before. She could have fallen just after I left and been in agony all that time. She was put to bed, taken out, dressed and taken for breakfast with her broken hip.

“As she had dementia she was unable to say what was wrong but I could tell fromher symptoms what had happened.

“My mother spent her entire life helping elderly people live their last years with a bit of dignity then dies like this.”

Two years ago the Care Commission slammed Eastbank for not giving patients enough to eat or enough time to finish their meals. It found carpets stained with urine and a faulty air conditioner resulted in temperatures as high as 30C (86F).

In 1999 a nurse was accused of leaving patients in urinedrenched beds. Two were found wet from the waist up to their shoulders.

Tracey Fletcher, of BUPA Care Homes, said: “As soon as we became aware Mrs Carroll was limping we rang NHS Direct and followed their advice to monitor her and call her GP in the morning.

“She was not in distress and did not walk around overnight. Her GP recommended a scan and she was taken to hospital. We are confident she received a high quality of care.”

A Care Commission spokesman said: “We are investigating this complaint.”