Ombudsman criticises council over Eckington care home death

It comes after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman heavily criticised Derbyshire County Council for its lack of proper safeguarding measures for retired Chesterfield midwife Audrey Allen, before she fell and died. The council’s initial investigation into her death found she had received a “good overall standard of care”, despite experiencing numerous falls while living in the council-run The Grange Care Home, off Southgate.

During one incident at the home in March 2016, Miss Allen fell and broke her ribs and received serious chest injuries. She died in hospital the following month.

Her inquest found she died of her injuries and failings by the council contributed to that. The council has already been fined £500,000 in court after admitting failing to provide adequate care.

Now the ombudsman has published its report into Miss Allen’s care. The ombudsman’s investigation found the council missed numerous opportunities to assess and try to prevent the woman’s pattern of falls. It also criticised the council for not doing enough to monitor the woman’s nutrition, hydration and low weight, – which the inquest found was a factor in her death.

Michael King, local government and social care ombudsman, said: “Our findings reinforce what the coroner’s investigation found – that this woman’s death was avoidable. These failings were compounded when the council did not respond appropriately when it was alerted to her injuries by the hospital.” The ombudsman said the council has agreed to give an unreserved apology to her brother, make a payment of £1,000 to a registered charity of his choice and pay for a memorial to Miss Allen, such as a park bench or tree.

Councillor Barry Lewis, council leader, said: “We fully accept the ombudsman’s findings and have apologised wholeheartedly for the failings that led to Miss Allen’s death. In this case, our actions fell below the high standards that we expect of ourselves and we are truly sorry for what happened.”