Bishop Auckland care home 'ignored fall prevention advice'
Ms Heaviside died on 26 December 2024 at the age of 85 after breaking her hip.Her death was the consequence of a fall she suffered in her room at Howlish Hall Care Home on 4 October, an inquest found. She had surgery and was moved to a different care home on 3 December, due to "ongoing family concerns".
'Wouldn't want to pay'
A document published by the coroner on Thursday, known as a prevention of future deaths report, said Ms Heaviside had suffered a number of falls while she lived at Howlish Hall. In August 2023, the Community Falls Service advised the home manager to place a sensor box in her room and said she should use hip protectors, which could be purchased by the family. "The home did not follow these recommendations and did not inform the family of the option to purchase hip protectors," the coroner said. A social worker attended the home on 27 September 2024 after the family reported concerns. According to the report, the deputy manager had told the family the month before that the owner of Howlish Hall "probably wouldn't want to pay for a sensor mat"."The home staff assured the social worker that they had a sensor mat that they would place next to [Ms Heaviside]'s bed, but this was not done," assistant coroner Sutton said.
She added she had received evidence there had been a "reluctance" from the care home owner to "provide adequate resources for falls prevention equipment".
A response outlining action to be taken has to be submitted to the coroner by 5 September.
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
NHS strike chaos threatens to spread as paramedics REJECT pay offer on first day of doctors' walkout
NHS strikes threatened to spread yesterday as paramedics in the GMB union voted to reject their annual pay offer. It came as a five-day walkout by hospital resident doctors began over pay, led by the British Medical Association union. NHS chiefs said the health service was still 'open for business'. But ambulance crews and other NHS staff in the GMB union yesterday voted 67 per cent in favour of rejecting their 3.6 per cent offer for this year's pay rise. Paramedics joined nursing strikes in the winter of 2022-23 and could vote to do so again if they cannot get a better offer from Health Secretary Wes Streeting. National Secretary Rachel Harrison said: 'We have written to Wes Streeting, asking him to meet with us to discuss pay and other issues.' The Royal College of Nursing is also angry at getting a lower wage rise than doctors — and hospital consultants with the BMA are also considering striking again. As resident doctors, formerly called junior doctors, kicked off their strike to demand for a 29 per cent pay rise over the 5.4 per cent offer, Mr Streeting warned he could not guarantee patient safety. He said: 'I'm really proud of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff have mobilised to minimise the disruption and the risk of harm to patients. 'What I can't do is guarantee there will be none. That's why the BMA's action is so irresponsible.' The BMA has made one exception for its strike so far. It allowed resident doctors to be called in to cover neo-natal intensive care at Nottingham City Hospital to protect newborn babies' lives. Strike leader Dr Melissa Ryan, who works there, said: 'We don't have enough senior staff to cover the doctors that aren't there. "It is important to us that those very sick babies get a lot of care.'
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Fewer resident doctors thought to have gone on strike than in last year's stoppage
Thousands fewer resident doctors are thought to have joined picket lines on Friday during the first day of a five-day strike compared with last year's mass turnout. Although NHS England will only publish data on turnout and cancellations next week, hospital leaders are understood to have observed fewer resident doctors (previously known as junior doctors) on strike and less disruption to services than during the last round of industrial action, which ran from March 2023 until July 2024. While ministers and officials will not receive any statistics until after the five-day stoppage ends on Wednesday, there is a hope within government that the impact might be mitigated, in part by a lower strike turnout. The British Medical Association (BMA) is refusing to comment on how many of its members have joined the stoppage until it is over. The strike will continue until 7am on Wednesday. The public have been urged to keep coming forward for NHS care during this period, and NHS England has urged hospital chief executives to keep routine operations and appointments and only reschedule if there is a risk to patient safety. The NHS chief executive, Jim Mackey, told broadcasters on Friday that the NHS was taking a new approach after learning from previous strikes that 'harm to patients and disruption to patients was much broader than the original definitions'. 'Colleagues in the service have tried to keep as much going as humanly possible as well, and the early signs are that that's been achieved so far, but it is early doors,' he said. 'The thing that colleagues won't compromise is safety in the actual delivery. But it does look like people have really heard that. They're really pulling together to maximise the range of services possible.' Mackey noted that further strikes were 'possible' given the BMA has a six-month mandate. Speaking shortly after the start of the strike on Friday morning at the NHS England headquarters in London, where officials are monitoring its impact, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, praised NHS staff who, he said, were trying to limit its effects. This included, he said, 'many resident doctors who have ignored their union and are turning up for work'. Streeting warned, however, that patients would feel the impact, saying: 'We know that there have been operations, appointments and procedures already cancelled, and we know that there will be real challenges over the next five days.' Calling the BMA's decision to hold the strike a 'reckless and unnecessary action', he added: 'We won't let the BMA hold this country to ransom.' The BMA has agreed to requests for doctors to come off picket lines and work in hospitals experiencing the most pressure. One doctor was told to return to work at Nottingham City hospital's neonatal intensive care unit over the weekend, and a request from Lewisham hospital in south London for two anaesthetists to work on Saturday was also accepted. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion A smaller strike turnout has been expected because the BMA achieved a lesser mandate in the strike ballot than in 2023. Of 48,000 members, 55% voted, of whom 90% supported industrial action – representing less than half of members – compared with a turnout of 71.25% in 2023's expanded electorate, of whom 43,440 (98.37%) voted to go on strike. During the last round of 12 strikes in 2023 and 2024, nearly 1.5m appointments were rescheduled. In the final industrial action from 7am on Thursday 27 June to 7am on Tuesday 2 July, 23,001 staff were absent from work at the peak of the action. The BMA is asking for a rise of 29% over the next few years in order to achieve what it considers to be full pay restoration to pre-2008 levels, after the 2023 industrial action resulted in a pay bump of 22% to cover 2023-24 and 2024-25. At present, ministers have offered a 5.4% pay rise for 2025-26. The BMA council chair, Dr Tom Dolphin, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a 'clear, guaranteed pathway' to pay restoration would be required for resident doctors to return to work He said: 'So you've got last year's pay offer which did indeed move us towards [pay restoration], but Wes Streeting himself said that pay restoration is a journey, not an event, implying that there would be further pay restoration to come, and we were expecting our pay to be restored in full – that's our campaign's goal. We got partway there, but then that came to a halt this year.' Keir Starmer made a last-minute appeal to resident doctors, saying the strikes would 'cause real damage'. 'Most people do not support these strikes. They know they will cause real damage … These strikes threaten to turn back the clock on progress we have made in rebuilding the NHS over the last year, choking off the recovery,' the prime minister said.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Graham Thorpe's care had 'failings' in last months of his life, says coroner
There were 'failings' in the provision of former England cricketer Graham Thorpe's care in the months before he died, a coroner has said, as a conclusion of suicide was recorded at an inquest. Thorpe, 55, died on 4 August 2024 after being struck by a train at a railway station in Surrey. He had 'spiralled into depression' after losing his job as a batting coach in 2022, and tried to take his own life on another occasion, Surrey coroner's court heard. He also asked his wife for help to end his life. The coroner, Jonathan Stevens, said the last time Thorpe was seen in person by healthcare professionals was on 26 March 2024. 'In my judgment there were shortcomings in the care that should have been provided to Graham in the last four months or so of his life,' he said. Stevens added that 'there were failings in the provision of his care', but said that, on the evidence, he could not conclude those failings were gross and that, without them, Thorpe would not have died. He said healthcare appointments were offered to Thorpe, but he 'found it hard to attend these' because of his mental health. Stevens found that 'someone should have gone to see him to properly monitor and assess him, to do a face-to-face risk assessment and understand and address his care needs as required by the care plan'. The inquest heard that healthcare professionals did not consider Thorpe to be in a 'crisis situation' after he missed an appointment with the community mental health team on 28 June. At the time, Thorpe's wife, Amanda, told his care coordinator over the phone that her husband had been asking her 'for help to end his life'. During the same phone consultation, Thorpe said he 'hadn't been out for a while' and 'didn't see the point of being here', but had no immediate plans to act on his suicidal thoughts. The coroner said: 'I don't accept that when Graham was constantly asking his wife to help him end his life, which was a new presentation … that he was not at that point in crisis. 'It's clear there were shortcomings in his care. If he had been seen in those last four months, particularly after that incident on 28 June, I cannot say whether it would or would not have made any difference.' In May 2023, Thorpe had suicidal thoughts and was given inpatient treatment. Stevens said that 'some similar protective measures should have been considered in June 2024'. An investigation was carried out by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS trust after his death. Thorpe was a mainstay of the England men's cricket team for many years, as a batter between 1993 and 2005, and then as a coach for 12 years. During his international career, he struck 16 Test hundreds for England, including a debut century against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993. In all formats, he represented his country 182 times. Amanda Thorpe told the inquest the termination of his employment with the England and Wales Cricket Board was a 'real shock to Graham', which was the 'start of the decline of his mental health'. Speaking outside the coroner's court, she said: 'We will never get over the tragic loss of Graham, and we miss him every day. He was my best friend, my soulmate, and he was just a joy. And he loved life – but he got very ill.' Mark McGhee, the family's legal representative, said the coroner had found 'significant shortcomings' in the care provided. He said Thorpe's family 'hope that the coroner will address these concerns' so that such a loss 'never happens again'. Jo Lynch, the chief nursing officer for the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS trust, said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Graham Thorpe and our thoughts are with Graham's family and loved ones. 'We will reflect on the coroner's findings and our role in Graham's care with a view to continuous improvement and learning.' In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
