'Severe neglect' ruling on deaths at care home

The residents of Parkside House Nursing Home in Northampton died between July 22 and August 6, 2009.

A Serious Case Review into the deaths, published yesterday, found standards at the home had declined since previous inspections.

It said by July 2009 the home, set up for people over 65 suffering from dementia or long-standing mental illness, was unable to deal with residents with additional needs and "simply could not manage".

A serious case review was carried out by the Northamptonshire Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults (SOVA) Board after the deaths of the five residents, aged between 83 and 100.

Concerns were sparked after an elderly woman from the home was admitted to Northampton General Hospital on July 21 last year with severe pressure sores.

She was described as unresponsive and dehydrated and her condition was considered by hospital staff to be consistent with "severe neglect". She died the following day.

Another resident, also found to have similar pressure sores, died on the same day at the home.

On July 24 last year, three residents were moved out of the home urgently amid fears for their health.

One died in a community hospital on July 28, another died in another care home on August 4, and the third died in another home on August 6.

Work at Parkside House by health and social care staff highlighted "grave concerns about the standard of care being provided" and the rest of the residents were moved from Parkside on or just after July 31, and its registration was later cancelled.

Yesterday SOVA independent chairman Marie Seaton said the five people died in circumstances that "none of us would wish our mothers or fathers, or sons or daughters, to die in".

At a Press conference at the Lime Trees Hotel in Northampton yesterday, it was disclosed the residents had been suffering a lack of basic care, including eating and drinking.

Verdicts of natural causes were recorded in all five deaths, but the Serious Case Review found they died from causes that "were considered to be consistent with the effects of severe neglect".

It also emerged seven members of staff and the owner of the home had been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council by the Care Quality Commission.

The home was inspected by the commission's predecessor, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, in November 2008 but the review found it had declined since then.

It said: "There were fairly clear signs from both the Care Quality Commission and the Northamptonshire County Council contract monitoring process that standards were slipping at Parkside House and that this decline was linked to a lack of leadership and management control at the home."

It said Parkside House's registration was for people suffering from dementia and long-standing mental illness.

"However by July 2009 it is clear that they were actually looking after people with those needs plus considerable physical and nutritional needs that they simply could not manage," it added.

The report said there was nothing to suggest any individual failed in their duty, but a variety of people who visited the home in the run up to July 21, 2009 collectively did not identify what later became obvious.

Graham Sloper, independent author of the report, told the press conference it seemed the deterioration in standards at the home had taken place relatively quickly.