Wakefield care home 'sorry' after elderly resident found soaked in urine
A care home provider has said it is "deeply sorry" after an elderly resident was found lying in her own urine.
The woman died of pneumonia in hospital days after being found "soaked" in her room by her family at Lofthouse Grange Care Home in Wakefield, according to watchdog the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Orchard Care Homes, which runs Lofthouse Grange, has apologised and insisted it has since put in place measures to prevent similar cases, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The woman's family accused the home of neglect and claimed the incident would "not have helped" their mum's health, the Ombudsman's report said.
The watchdog, which rules on complaints against councils and care providers, said Lofthouse Grange had admitted multiple failings with its service.
Staff had put nicotine patches on the woman's chest, despite knowing she was suffering from breast cancer.
'Procedures reviewed'
It also admitted failing to "provide appropriate continence care" which resulted in the anonymous resident lying in her own urine.
The provider also acknowledged it had "either failed to tell the family of a GP visit or failed to properly record it had told them". The patient's daughter claimed the home had failed to give a GP a full picture of her mum's health when she was suffering from breathing difficulties, resulting in the doctor's visit being delayed, the report said.
A spokesperson for Orchard Care Homes said: "The wellbeing and dignity of people within our care is always of paramount importance.
"After a full internal investigation into this incident, procedures have been thoroughly reviewed and measures put in place to ensure this never happens again.
"We are deeply sorry that our usual standards were not met during this isolated incident, and we will continue to strive to ensure that our 100% 'good' CQC standard across our homes is continuously met."
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