No way to treat a D-Day hero
Veteran, 94, dies after suffering horrific burns when his carer left him overnight in armchair just inches from his gas fire
A SECOND World War hero suffered appalling burns and later died after a care worker left him slumped halfnaked in a chair inches from his fire.
In a distressing case exposing the often dire state of care for the elderly in their own homes, 94-year-old Dennis Oldland was unable to move and ‘gently roasted’ overnight – while his walking stick lay out of reach.
When the Normandy veteran was found the next morning, his leg appeared to be ‘burnt through to the bone’.
His family say that footage from CCTV, which had been installed in his home, showed him struggling in the night – trying to grasp his stick so that he could get himself up and away from the gas fire.
Son Richard Oldland said: ‘He didn’t fall asleep, he was in a state of distress. You can see him moving, he can’t get up.’
The carer who had visited his home that evening, Julie Greenwood, recorded in the log book that she had spent half an hour there, adding: ‘ Denis [ sic] fine.’ But the CCTV inside Mr Oldland’s home revealed that she left after just seven minutes.
Ms Greenwood has now admitted that she spent no more than ten minutes at the war hero’s home in Blackpool. Suggesting it was routine to overstate times carers spent in homes, she said: ‘We always wrote the times we were meant to be there.’ She denied that she acted negligently. Even though Mr Oldland died last year, his family have had to fight for an inquest to highlight what it says are systemic failures that led to his death. The inquest will finally open on Tuesday.
Barrister Jeremy Dable, who will represent the family, said they want to
‘All we wanted was for him to end his days well’
know why his carer did not dress him, put him to bed or at least move him back from the fire. ‘They also want to know why she made a false record of her visit on November 4, claiming it lasted from 9.30 to 10pm when it was actually 10.14 to 10.21pm,’ said Mr Dable.
During the war Mr Oldland was a motorcycle despatch rider. In the days after the 1944 D-Day invasion he was sent on missions delivering intelligence reports to and from the frontline.
On another occasion he escorted Field Marshall Montgomery to the battlefront. After the war he worked as a mechanical engineer before building a business running amusement arcades in Blackpool. His family said he was still riding motorbikes at the age of 90.
He and his wife Ada adopted Richard and his brother Christopher.
Now a Baptist minister, Richard, 54, said: ‘I was picked up off the street aged two-and-a-half. They said to my dad, who was a technician on the pier, “We have nowhere to place this boy, will you take him?” and he brought me home. In later life he told me that when we got there I asked, “Are you my dad now?” He replied, “Yes, I am.” ’
Their sister Elaine was born after the adoption. Their mother Ada died in 1999, after which Mr Oldland lived alone. He began receiving home care at 93. Last night, Richard said: ‘ Dad was let down. All we wanted was for him to end his days well.’ The burn he suffered from knee to foot required a skin graft but doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital decided he was too weak to survive it. Days later they found he also had a broken hip, although when this happened is unclear. Mr Oldland pulled through but on December 12 doctors said they were withdrawing IV fluids as his organs were shutting down, according to Richard. ‘Dad went downhill from there and died two days later.’ It was only after the family questioned the ‘natural causes’ entry on his death certificate that it was agreed an inquest would be held. Richard will tell the inquest that ‘alarm bells’ should have rung for the carer when she arrived. CCTV showed he had been acting erratically before the carer arrived – taking off all his clothes except a vest and then slumping in his chair. He said: ‘She handed Dad an item of clothing with which to cover himself up and left the room. She returned a minute later to collect the dirty pots, including a mug which was on its side on the floor. At 22.20 she put a mug of tea and some toast on a small table next to Dad.
‘She left the property having spent seven minutes there. He sat there gently roasting his leg all night. He did not have his walking stick with him, and the carer should have known he wasn’t able to mobilise without it.’
Ms Greenwood was employed by Safehands Care, a firm contracted by Blackpool Council to provide Mr Oldland with a ‘care package’ of four visits a day.
This included helping dress him, feed him and get him to bed at night and ensuring he was safe and well. ‘That evening the carer did none of these things, for whatever reason, perhaps out of embarrassment,’ said Mr Dable.
Ms Greenwood, 46, said she had asked Mr Oldland to put his pants on but he had responded by throwing them on the floor. She added: ‘I felt uncomfortable. I just thought he was ready for bed. He always had the fire on.’
Ms Greenwood, who had worked for Safehands for four months, is due to give evidence at the hearing. Mr Dable will argue that Safehands Care and Blackpool Council were negligent in their duty of care towards Mr Oldland, and will also examine ‘the merits of a civil case’ against the hospital.
A Blackpool Council spokeswoman said: ‘We are aware of the matter and will await the outcome of the inquest.’
Paul Manning, director of Safehands Care, said: ‘We consider it inappropriate to discuss or pass comment regarding the issues raised by the family, prior to the inquest.’ Blackpool Victoria Hospital failed to respond.