'Inaction' at Whittlesey care home 'resulted in my Dad's death', inquest told

George Lowlett was a “caring, hardworking man who loved life”, an inquest into his death has heard.

Mr Lowlett, who died aged 90 in February 2019, had been a resident of The Elms Care Home in Whittlesey for the final few months of his life.

The home, operated by large national provider HC-One, shut down last year after being rated Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Shortly before this, Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) suspended admissions to it and all other HC-One homes in the region.

Mr Lowlett's inquest immediately follows that of Margaret Canham, 97, and will be followed by that of David Poole, 74; two other former Elms residents who died within around a month of each other.

Mr Lowlett’s daughter, Laura Newell, said in a witness statement that her dad was a “lady’s man” throughout his life and a “big presence and personality”.

But he was “not happy at the care home”, she said, which was too slow to respond to his deteriorating health.

“I believe the home’s inaction resulted in my dad’s death that weekend,” she said.

Family felt lied to by Elms staff

Mrs Newell also said that all HC-One homes should be investigated and that she believes she was lied to by Elms staff.

This was because of an incident in which she asked a nurse when her father was next due paracetamol, which he was then immediately given despite a nurse telling her that he wasn’t due any.

She also recounted witnessing a nurse notice a deterioration in a wound on his foot but failing to document this as well as finding in his care notes that there were 25 times he wasn’t repositioned in his chair within the recommended two to three hours.

He was left for more than seven hours on one occasion, she said.

Mr Lowlett was diagnosed first with a chest infection and then sepsis and died in Peterborough City Hospital on 18 February 2019.

Record-keeping 'could have been a lot better'

In the preceding days nurse Simone McIntyre was among those involved with Mr Lowlett’s care at the Elms.

She told the inquest that “things could have been a lot better” in her record-keeping in the days leading up to his hospital admission.

Ms McIntyre didn’t include, for instance, what his temperature was when she took it – just that she had – and it wasn’t always entirely clear which patient her notes referred to.

She also confirmed that staffing levels at The Elms were often an issue when asked why a prescription for Mr Lowlett wasn’t picked up sooner after he began to show signs of illness.

The inquest continues.