Son of woman killed by fellow care home resident wants 'positive legacy for both women'

An inquest concluded that 88-year-old Sheila Hartman died of injuries to the head and face after being attacked by Eunice Clarke, who struck her with a walking stick.

Richard Uridge, who lives near Ludlow, was with his mother when she died at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital in October 2022. He described her injuries as being like she had gone rounds with a heavyweight boxer.

An inquest in Bedfordshire concluded last week that the care home in Dunstable had known about Eunice Clarke showing signs of physical aggression. But the "risks associated with these signs were not recognised and and appropriate precautions wer not taken", the inquest heard. A narrative verdict was recorded.

Mr Uridge said he is working with care home operator HC-One and wants the legacy of his mother's tragic death to be improved care. Eunice Clarke has also since died and both families have met.

"We are in a sense both victims in a slightly different way of the awful disease of dementia and also in this particular case victims of frankly very, very substandard care which has been exposed multiple times over the last week of this hearing," said Mr Uridge.

"To say it was an accident waiting to happen would be wrong. It was no accident. It was the consequence of appallingly poor care and I’m now working with the care home operator, HC-One, to make sure it never happens again.

"That would be a positive legacy for both women - victims in different ways of the horrible disease that is dementia."

The family of 92-year-old Eunice Clarke said she had been a "kind and loving person" whose personality had been changed by dementia. They told the BBC that they were glad that she had died without knowing that she had taken a life.

Mr Uridge added: "Although sometimes the wheels of justice turn frustratingly slowly I have no complaints about the thoroughness of the inquest.

"It examined more than a thousand pages of care records which showed care home staff knew about Eunice’s verbal and physical aggression but that managers failed to act on the information and put a proper care plan in place for her - a plan that would recognise and manage the risk she posed to herself, staff and other residents, Sheila included."

The Ridgeway Lodge Care Home is run by Britain’s biggest care home operator HC-One.

A spokesperson for Ridgeway Lodge Care Home said: “Sheila Hartman’s passing in October 2022 was terrible and tragic, and our condolences remain with Sheila’s family, and with the family of Eunice Clarke. While we know we cannot change what happened, it has been incredibly important to us that we learn from this.

“Over the last two years we have worked closely with the police, the local authority and the CQC to do so, with each of us conducting investigations into what happened.

"HC-One has taken Sheila’s death and the findings of the investigations extremely seriously, and we have made many improvements to enhance the support and care we provide to residents with complex dementia needs.

"This includes strengthening our pre-admission assessment and re-assessment process to make sure that residents’ conditions, behaviours and dependencies are better understood from the outset to inform the most appropriate care for them, and that this is then continually reviewed throughout their dementia journey so that support can be adapted accordingly.

"We have also reviewed and bolstered how we deploy staff, to ensure staffing is aligned with changing resident dependencies.

"Our new digital incident management system and digital care planning software will further support both our insight and oversight, and give us a greater understanding of risk.

"These digital systems will also help us to identify areas of concern in a resident’s care, and ensure that these are escalated quickly to senior operational and quality teams so the appropriate interventions and or support can be put in place.

“The progress we are making at Ridgeway Lodge, supported by strong new local and regional leadership, has been recognised by the CQC, who rated the home as ‘Good’ last year.

They added that they are pleased that the coroner also recognised that “lessons have been learned”.

But a spokesperson added: "This does not alter our commitment to ensuring those learnings continue to manifest into how we deliver care and improve outcomes.

"We will be thoroughly reviewing and reflecting on what has been discussed throughout the inquest, and working with our teams to continue to do all we can for our residents, their families and our communities.”