Woman, 96, died after push at Whitchurch care home, inquest told

Evelyn May Williamson, of Edgeley House, Whitchurch, died at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on August 24, last year.

A jury inquest taking place at Shrewsbury Town Football Club heard how Mrs Williamson had sustained the injuries which led to her death when she was pushed over by the resident at the care home on August 20.

Giving evidence to the inquest, Mrs Williamson's son, Nicholas, said he did not believe the home had kept his mother safe.

He said that following her death he had discovered that she had been assaulted on several occasions by the same woman, referred to as "Resident X".

He said: "They had an opportunity to tell me when I attended the meeting on August 19 to discuss my mum's welfare. If I had been told I would have taken action to protect her.

"I do not believe Edgeley House was a safe place for my mum and if she had better care and was protected from other residents she would not have been pushed over and fractured her femur leading to her death."

However, staff at the home told Shropshire Coroner, John Ellery, that they had done everything possible to safeguard the residents, and that they were under constant observation in the communal area where the incident took place.

They told the inquest that Resident X had also been on a programme where she was monitored every 15 minutes, and that a community mental health team had been brought in to review her treatment plan following a series of incidents involving shouting, grabbing, or pushing other residents.

The jury heard that the day before Mrs Williamson was pushed over, her son had attended a meeting at the home where she had pointed to another resident and said: "I do not like her, she's a bully."

Laura Williams, a care assistant at the home told the coroner that the incident had taken place at around 7.45pm when she noticed Resident X shouting at Mrs Williamson in a hallway.

The jury heard how she had stepped between the two

Miss Williams told the inquest that Mrs Williamson had said: "I do not like this lady, she is a bully and I am scared of her."

The care assistant explained how she encouraged Resident X to go into the nearby lounge, and as she had walked away she had taken Mrs WIlliamson towards another lounge.

However, as she went to open the fire door for her to walk through she noticed Resident X "quickly approaching" with her "eyes fixed" on Mrs Williamson.

Mrs Williams said Resident X then pushed Mrs Williamson over before she could reach her.

The inquest heard evidence from the home's deputy manager, Mandy Davies, who said that she believed even one-to-one observation would not have prevented the incident.

She said: "On that night Laura was present to try and intervene but it still occurred.

"That's unpreventable despite everything that was there, a member of staff between them, a member of staff in the locality, it still happened."

The inquest is expected to conclude today.