MORNINGSIDE Care Home in Winsford was deemed to be not at fault when a coroner investigated the death of an elderly resident following a fall.

Edna Clarke, 97, from Winsford, moved into the care home in Swanlow Lane on Saturday, July 9, this year, and within hours she suffered a fall which broke her spine and led to her death in Leighton Hospital five days later on July 14.

Coroner Alan Moore heard evidence at Crewe Coroner’s Court on Monday including a witness statement from Sheena Bennett, the nurse who was on shift at the time of the fall.

Sheena said: “I was on the night shift and Edna kept getting up to use the commode. We had a pressure mat that would sound an alarm when she gets out of bed and steps on it and when it would go off we would go and check on her.

“The mat went off at around 4.15am and I went to look and when I walked into the room she was lying on the floor face down next to the bed.

“She had a massive skin tear on her head and we could see blood coming from her nose and she was complaining about a pain in her head, but she was alert.”

The coroner heard that Mrs Clarke, who had stayed at the care home regularly for respite care prior to moving in, had had an ‘identical’ fall in March and questioned the care home manager about why no changes to safety precautions were made.

Jennie Woodier, manager at Morningside Care Home, said: “We used the mat because we previously used the buzzer, which the patient would press when they need to get up, but Edna just didn’t use it, she didn’t understand it. The other option was a high rail around the bed but we’re not a fan of them because patients just tend to climb over them.”

When asked if she had looked at the positioning of the mat and rail, Mrs Woodier said: “I didn’t because I was positive that the family had positioned everything how they wanted.”

Mr Moore concluded that the cause of Mrs Clarke’s death was a mixture of natural causes and accident.

Mrs Clarke’s daughter, Jennifer Hardiman, also gave evidence.

She said: “She was falling all the time, it was just the way she was going. Jennie asked me about railings from the start but my mum was such an independent and resilient woman, she would have climbed over them. I don’t think there was any other option.”