Care home has blood on its hands over my mother’s death
She passed away after eviction
A Retired nurse has accused care home staff of having ‘blood on their hands’ after her mother was evicted and later died following complaints over her treatment.
Marjorie Pitman, 96, who had dementia, was served notice to leave the luxury £1,000-a-week Avon Reach Care Home after her daughters accused carers of ‘unsafe’ practice.
Maggie Pitman, 71, claimed the home, in Mudeford, dorset, had a huge turnover of staff.
She said staff took too long to change her mother’s soiled underwear, would not give her enough water to drink, and increased the dosage of her medication unnecessarily, leaving her drowsy.
But owners Colten Care dismissed the concerns as ‘unfounded’ and gave the 96-year- old 28 days to leave the home, where she had lived for three years.
Miss Pitman claims the stress of the move to another home caused her mother to die eight weeks later.
‘For some reason they just weren’t prepared to take on board our concerns and do much about them and it was easier for them to give the resident notice because they don’t want the aggro,’ she said.
‘ She was so distraught, she couldn’t work out why we had moved her.
‘Everyone said she would live to 100. They have blood on their hands. We’re left with the guilt because we brought complaints and, because of that, they gave her notice. We had to raise the concerns because it was unsafe.’
Mrs Pitman, a widow, entered Avon Reach in August 2012. She had been suffering from mild vascular dementia and mobility problems, and her daughters, Miss Pitman and Pauline darley, thought it would best if she was in care. The home was rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
But Miss Pitman, of Hordle, Hampshire, claimed the poor care at the home forced her to care for her mother every day. In summer 2015, Mrs Pitman was transferred to the Ocean Breeze home, in nearby Barton on Sea, where she died.
Colten Care said Mrs Pitman died ‘some time’ after she left Avon Reach. Mark Aitchison, chief executive of Colten Care, said: ‘The decision to serve notice was a last resort and not taken lightly. It followed a continual succession of unfounded complaints from Marjorie Pitman’s daughters over a number of years.
‘We investigated and acted upon each complaint but once one concern was addressed, another would be raised by the family, and then another, and so on. Frankly the situation had become untenable.
‘We invited the CQC into Avon Reach to review our policies and procedures. They requested an investigation, which revealed no concerns over care. Likewise, Mrs Pitman’s GP found nothing untoward. Complaints by the daughters against specific nurses were made to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, fully investigated and again found to have no substance.’