Care home nurse didn’t even try to save gran, 59, inquest hears

The daughter of a woman who died at a nursing home has criticised a nurse after she refused to attempt resuscitation,
The Holme House care home in Cleckheaton. Picture: Ross Parry AgencyThe Holme House care home in Cleckheaton. Picture: Ross Parry Agency
The Holme House care home in Cleckheaton. Picture: Ross Parry Agency

Grandmother Susan Burgess was just 59 when she died in December 2012 after suffering a pulmonary embolism.

The mother-of-two had been staying at the care home because of her dementia, brought on prematurely by a head injury she suffered in a car crash.

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Nurse Winifred Jozi was called when Mrs Burgess was found in her room at Holme House care home in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.

But an inquest heard she refused to attempt resuscitation and didn’t even call for an ambulance - instead, choosing to ring the non-emergency NHS Direct service. Mrs Burgess was pronounced dead an hour after being found.

Am inquest was told the nurse had been subsequently sacked and suspended from working as a nurse pending an investigation.

Mrs Burgess’ daughter, Julie Marsden, said: “She claimed that she knew my mum was dead just by looking at her, so she didn’t even check her pulse or do any of the other checks that a medical professional should do.”

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A post-mortem examination found Mrs Burgess had died from blood clots in her lungs coupled with pneumonia.

Coroner Oliver Longstaff accepted that it was unlikely Mrs Burgess would have survived, even if CPR had been attempted, but added: “It seems Mrs Jozi didn’t look for a pulse. She took the proverbial ‘one look’ at her and decided she was dead.

A spokesperson for Croft Care, which runs Holme House, expressed sympathy to the family.

“The management of the home found that the registered nurse did not follow the protocols that the home had in place.

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“The home reported this to Kirklees Council Safeguarding Team and the police at the time of the incident and the company carried out a full investigation into her actions culminating in her being dismissed from her post and her actions being reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”