Iris was badly let down, says son of 91-year-old who died after being mishandled at care home
The family of a 91-year-old widow who died after being mishandled by care home staff say she was let down by her carers.
Iris Teale died after she was inappropriately handled while living at Aston Court Nursing and Residential Home in Sutton Coldfield, South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh ruled yesterday.
The three-day hearing heard how Mrs Teale died at Good Hope Hospital more than two weeks after she sustained a fractured thigh bone at the care home on October 24, 2011. Nurse Santhosh Rajan, from Walsall, and healthcare assistant Marsha Tulloch attended to Iris and discovered the spiral fracture on her thigh, the hearing heard.
In a narrative verdict delivered yesterday, Mr Haigh said the fracture accelerated her death and was caused by the handling of either or both staff members Mr Rajan and Ms Tulloch.
Earlier this year, Mr Rajan was found not guilty of manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court in relation to Mrs Teale's death. During the inquest Mr Rajan said he had nothing to do with her injury and denied dropping her.
Following the hearing yesterday, Mrs Teale's son Clive Teale said: "It has been nearly four years and we may never know the full facts but we have taken a big step to understanding what happened on the day Iris sustained her injuries.
"Iris was very badly let down by individuals who were meant to care for her. We desperately hope lessons have been learnt by this, so now we can move on."
At the hearing, pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar said the cause of Mrs Teale's death was heart disease, chronic renal failure and Lewy bodies dementia. He said her death was 'accelerated' by the fracture of her left thigh. Coroner Mr Haigh said: "Iris had a number of naturally occurring conditions but her death was accelerated by a fractured right thigh she sustained on October 8 at the nursing home where she lived.
"A causative factor for the fracture was inappropriate handling of her by staff."
A spokesperson for the home said: "We again send our condolences to Mrs Teale's family. We conducted a thorough investigation in 2011 and delivered extra training and focused supervisions with all staff."
