Woman, 97, died following years of care home 'neglect'

A woman who arrived in Britain as part of the Windrush generation died after severely infected gangrene on her foot went untreated at a care home for more than a year.

- NADINE WHITE

Clementina Smith, 97, a resident at Murrayfield Care Home in north London, developed the painful condition which resulted in blood poisoning before relatives raised the alarm and she was rushed to hospital in November 2017.

In a letter seen by The Independent, Murrayfield Care Home admits that the sepsis was likely caused by the gangrene, which developed from a pressure sore on her foot that staff had initially failed to identify.

Smith died in June 2018, and an inquest found the care home partly responsible for her death due to negligent care. This negligence contributed to the development of gangrene the previous year while she was still a resident there.

Having moved into the home in 2013, Smith’s family first became concerned for her wellbeing after noticing changes in her behaviour and deteriorating hygiene, before discovering the rotting on her left foot. They lodged two police reports for neglect and alleged assault in 2014 and 2017 respectively.

“The home knew that we would go to see her on specific days. But on the occasions prior to the police reports, we visited outside of the time that they were used to us coming and we couldn’t believe her condition,” Claudia Smith, Clementina’s granddaughter, said.

“Initially, we became concerned about her smell, the condition of her feet and it’s clear that she wasn’t being looked after to the standard we’d expect.

“As a family, we feel that our grandmother hasn’t been able to rest in peace while questions have gone unanswered. We haven’t been able to heal.”