A grandmother died in a fall when paramedics attempted to lift her using a beach towel instead of approved equipment, an inquest heard.
Doreen Piling suffered a serious broken leg after a paramedic attempted to lift the 93-year-old from her bathroom floor using a towel and take her to hospital on September 3 last year.
The retired teacher was eventually admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital, where she developed pneumonia and died almost two months later.
At an inquest into her death held in April, coroner Christopher Long concluded that the paramedic’s decision was a “culpable human error that contributed to Doreen’s death.”
Doreen’s daughter Christine Fitzpatrick, 66, said it was “really upsetting” to see her mother suffer.
Christine described her mother as a “fiercely independent” woman who had been a Salvation Army soldier after the death of her husband Ken in 2008 and enjoyed delivering food parcels to local people at Christmas.
Speaking for the first time after the inquest, Christine said: “My mother was a wonderful woman who gave so much to her family and her community in her life and she deserved so much better.”
“Seeing my mother suffer for so many weeks and die in such an undignified and painful way was truly devastating and something we will never fully recover from.”
An ambulance was called when Doreen was found unresponsive in the bathroom of her home in Burnley, Lancashire, on September 3 last year.
A technician attempted to lift Doreen from the ground using a rolled up towel instead of using approved equipment from the ambulance.
She then fell to the ground in a so-called “uncontrolled fall” and broke her right leg.
She was admitted to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where she developed pneumonia.
After a long stay in Blackburn and finally in Pendle Community Hospital, Doreen died on October 24th.
Christine added: “As a family, we are grateful to the coroner for examining my mother’s care so carefully and coming to this conclusion, which we believe is the correct one.”
“I hope that changes can be made to ensure that the same poor care is not repeated for another patient in the same situation.”
Described by her family as fiercely independent, Doreen taught food technology to adults with learning disabilities at Burnley College before retiring.
Before her death, Doreen lived in her own apartment in a senior living complex in the city.
While her family helped her with shopping, Doreen cooked all her meals herself and enjoyed going out for coffee regularly.
In addition to her work for The Salvation Army, Christine also raised concerns about her mother’s hospital treatment before her death in October and filed a formal complaint.
Although the coroner did not conclude that this played a role in Doreen’s death, he asked the hospital for full details on how medical records are reviewed and verified.
Madeleine Langmead, a specialist medical malpractice lawyer at JMW Solicitors who represented Doreen’s family at the inquest, said: “I welcome the findings of the inquest as they provide Doreen’s family with much-needed answers.”
“They witnessed her severe deterioration and the coroner’s conclusion confirms their belief that it all started with a negligent error by the paramedic.”
“This case highlights the catastrophic consequences that can occur if safety precautions are not followed when handling and lifting patients.”
“This reckless approach should not have been used on any patient, let alone an elderly person at increased risk of bone fractures.”
“It is crucial to learn lessons from this so that something like this does not happen again.”
A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “We deeply regret the medical error that led to Ms Pilling’s injury prior to her admission to hospital and accept the coroner’s findings.”
“The employees involved have received further training to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.”
“We extend our sincere condolences to Ms Pilling’s family and apologise for the distress this incident has caused.”