HC-One: Granddaughter 'pleased' with Whittlesey Care Home ruling but still 'angry' with care provider

The granddaughter of a woman who died after receiving “suboptimal care” at The Elms Care Home in Whittlesey said she is “pleased” with the outcome of an inquest into her death.

Kim Arden said it was a “pleasant surprise” that coroner Caroline Jones returned a longer conclusion that simply “natural causes”, noting in official records that Mrs Canham died from a “community-acquired infection”.

Ms Jones also said that there were “red flags” in Mrs Canham’s condition that should have been investigated sooner and that she received “suboptimal care” in her final days at the HC-One operated home.

But it’s not possible to say that her outcome would necessarily have been different if she had been admitted to hospital sooner, she added.

Mrs Canham died at Peterborough City Hospital of sepsis and a chest infection on 23 February 2019. She was 97.

In reaching her conclusion, Ms Jones had “taken a lot on board of what we’ve been saying”, Mrs Arden said – referring to herself and the families of two other former Elms residents who died at a similar time to Mrs Canham.

Inquests into the deaths of George Lowlett and David Poole are being held back-to-back after Mrs Canham’s and are currently ongoing.

“We’ve never said they’re Peter Pan and they’re going to live forever, but when they needed medical assistance it should have been at the point of needing rather than delaying,” Mrs Arden said.

She added that she “had to” advocate for her grandmother because Mrs Canham was a woman who “never let anybody down”.

“She loved her family, her children, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Mrs Arden said.

“She loved pottering around in the garden; she had a long, long marriage. She was a family woman. She would never let anybody down, which is why I had to do what I’m doing.”

But Mrs Arden says that the last four years have been “a battle” to get to where she is and that she’s still “angry” with HC-One, which continues to operate hundreds of care homes in the UK.

She also said she’d have liked to see a Regulation 28 issued, which is a report a coroner can order when they believe action should be taken to prevent further deaths.

HC-One senior area director Jonathan Richards said at the inquest that changes have been made in company policy and practices since Mrs Canham’s death, including the beginnings of a move to electronic recording systems and an altered method of determining safe staffing levels.

Mrs Arden said that she and the families of Mr Lowlett and Mr Poole will consider any next steps when all three inquests are complete.