Brithdir care home inquest: Daughter fed mum instead of 'hopeless' staff

June Hamer lost three stone and had a serious pressure sore while at the care home, the inquest heard

A care home was so understaffed a woman felt forced to feed her mother and other residents, an inquest has heard.

Seven residents of the former Caerphilly home died after suffering alleged neglect, prompting an £11m police inquiry.

An inquest in Newport has heard the residents died between 2003 and 2005.

One, June Hamer, who lived at the Brithdir home in New Tredegar, died after being taken to hospital with a serious pressure sore.

Following the allegations about the deaths in 2005, Gwent Police set up Operation Jasmine, which cost £11m, but the criminal case failed to get to trial.

The inquest is expected to last until mid-March.

Mrs Hamer, who had been "full of life and always on the go ", retired at the age of 60 but started to develop symptoms of dementia two years later.

'Majority of staff were hopeless'

She lost three stone in the nine months she lived at the home, from October 2003, the inquest heard.

After the most serious, grade four, pressure sore was found on her buttocks, she was taken to hospital in August 2004.

Mrs Hamer's daughter Tracy Allen said she and her father used to regularly feed her mother, then aged 71, as they felt that she was not being properly looked after.

"Some of the staff were very helpful, others not very good. But I would describe the majority as hopeless," she said.

"It annoyed me intensely to see them all sitting in the day room, smoking. I remember feeding her and then going round some of the other residents to feed them as well."

Statements from Mrs Hamer's family that were read to the court, indicate they had not been told by care home staff that Mrs Hamer had suffered the pressure sore injury.

It was only when her husband Ronald spotted that a local GP sent her straight to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil. She then died in hospital.

Her cause of death was given as bronchopneumonia, contributed to by Pick's disease, a type of dementia.

• Neglect claim care home nurse 'struggled to cope'

• Doctor charged with care home neglect dies

• Nurses struck off for care failings

In a statement by her son Gerrard, he said: "During the spring of 2004 we noticed there was a change of regime at the home.

"The whole structure seemed to gradually deteriorate. We had no confidence in the staff."

The inquest heard more evidence of a lack or proper record-keeping in relation to residents' care plans on food, medication or turning.

A £11.6m police inquiry into the Brithdir home collapsed when the former owner was declared unfit to stand trial

Statements from some former staff were also read to the court, suggesting many received little to no training when they started work.

June Smith, who worked at Brithdir from June to August 2004, said that when she started she had "no experience".

"I did not receive any training - I learned from other members of staff while doing the job," she said.

"I was never told to clean their teeth, so I never did. There was a time in the home when we were told we could only change the residents' pads when they smelt. I didn't like that. "

Ms Smith also said nurses regularly slept through the night shift in the office and staffing was a problem.

"On several occasions, it was just me and a qualified nurse to care for 30 patients," she added.

'It was your job'

In response to Ms Smith's allegations Daphne Richards, a former nurse and manager at the home told the hearing: "It was not brought to my attention. I had no idea they were sleeping."

Ms Richards was asked whether it was her duty to make sure Mrs Hamer's care plan was followed.

"I believe that whenever a care plan is written and introduced to the staff, I trust them to follow it through," she said.

"But it was your job to ensure they followed it?" asked coroner Geraint Williams.

Ms Richards replied: "Was it? I am sorry but I trust their integrity to follow it through without me reminding them."

The inquest also heard evidence from police interviews with qualified nurses at the home, including Tembakazi Moyana who was struck off the nursing register in 2015.

She stated she "did everything she possibly could with the shortage of staff within the home".

The inquest is expected to hear evidence into the deaths of other residents at the home - Matthew Higgins, 86, Stanley Bradford, 76, Edith Evans, 85, Evelyn Jones, 87, and William Hickman, 71.

On Wednesday, the inquest heard evidence in relation to 89-year-old Stanley James, a former steelworker, who died in 2003.