Home may face charges over granny’s death
A FAILING care home provider may face criminal charges after the Daily Express exposed how an “unattended” dementia sufferer died from sickening injuries, it emerged last night.
Care Quality Commission inspectors visited Argyle House after we revealed how greatgrandmother Valerie Mary Hawksworth, 79, was found on the floor with two broken wrists, a fractured shoulder and a bleed on the brain.
A month before the tragedy, the CQC said the home in Northampton “requires improvement”, but last night the watchdog, which has launched a joint investigation with council chiefs, said it was considering action which could see Argyle House banned from admitting new residents.
Andrea Sutcliffe, the CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, said: “This was a terrible, tragic incident.
“CQC inspectors have identified concerns about the way people living in Argyle House are being let down by the quality of care delivered by this provider.
“We are currently exercising our civil enforcement powers and considering what further action we may be able to take to ensure people, their families and carers, are properly protected.”
Enforcement action could see the regulator cancelling the care home’s registration and banning it from taking on new residents.
Mother-of-five Mrs Hawksworth, paralysed from a stroke and battling dementia, was being charged £900 a week to the home, run by Leeds-based Countrywide Care Homes.
On May 19 she was found injured and crying for help on the lounge floor and was taken to Northampton General Hospital, where she died 10 days later.
There is no suggestion a carer was to blame but the incident followed complaints about a lack of staff and adequate training at the home.
Six months on Mrs Hawksworth’s daughters Joanne Brown, 56, and Cathryn Bruley, 54, are still no closer to knowing what happened to their mother.
Mrs Bruley said: “When I got there, mum was on her front with her head on two pillows, one arm was by her side twisted and the other was up.
“She was crying, saying, ‘Help me’. She had a massive bump on her head and a really bad skin tear on her hand.
“I said to the nurse, ‘What happened?’ and she said, ‘Nobody knows’. When I said, ‘Why wasn’t there anyone about?’ I was told, ‘You know how it can be’.”
Ms Brown said: “I want somebody to be held to account for my mother’s death. We put her in that home to be looked after because we couldn’t provide the help she needed.
“What did she pay for? As far as I was concerned my mother was being looked after, but she died. I am really angry and upset. I don’t want this brushed under the carpet.”
Countrywide Care Homes runs Argyle House as specialist accommodation for those with dementia, learning disabilities, disease or injury. After an inspection in April, the CQC said: “The
service was not able to demonstrate staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs.
“People sometimes had to wait for staff to support them and staff were often rushed; this negatively affected people’s experience of care.”
The watchdog went back in September after the Daily Express revealed the circumstances surrounding Mrs Hawksworth’s death and showed harrowing pictures of her injuries.
The CQC’s most recent findings will be published later this month and an inquest into Mrs Hawksworth’s death will be held on November 15.
Northamptonshire county council said last night: “Our thoughts are with the family. The incident is subject to an investigation by the safeguarding adults team at the council and is still to be concluded.”
Countrywide Care Homes said: “CQC inspected Argyle House in September and we await their report. During the inspection they fed back to us that they were concerned about staffing levels and we made changes immediately. We are not aware of any other issues.”
Jayne Connery, 50, who set up Care Campaign for the Vulnerable after her mother was attacked in a care home, said: “The sad thing, yet again, is that CCTV safety monitoring would have provided conclusive evidence as to what happened and if that fatal incident could have been prevented.”