Pensioner in Whittlesey not given CPR 'after name mix up

Pensioner in Whittlesey not given CPR 'after name mix up
A PENSIONER died after her records were mixed up with another care home resident and no attempt was made by paramedics to resuscitate her, an inquest has heard.

Joyce Parrott, 81, died at The Elms in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire in April 2020. The ambulance team was wrongly advised she had a “do not resuscitate (DNR)” order in place.

But Ms Parrott’s daughter Caroline Porter told the coroner a nurse “mixed my mum up with another Joyce”.

A nurse, who it is believed had since left the country, “admitted that she’d been working off two care plans, both with the first name of Joyce and she’d mixed my mum up with another Joyce”.

And in the transcript of the 999-call made by a nurse at the care home, the nurse replied “I don’t know” when asked if there was a defibrillator at the property.

Mrs Porter said: “She was the nurse on duty, surely she should have known where the defibrillator was?

“I just don’t feel they did everything they could have for her that morning and I feel very let down.”

Relatives of three other residents have previously raised concerns about The Elms – run by HC-ONE – after their loved ones died in 2019.

The home is currently classified as ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission.

Mrs Porter said prior to her death she had once found that her mother had been left in soiled underwear for five days.

At the inquest, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough coroner Caroline Jones said on April 29 2020 an ambulance had been called to the care home after Mrs Parrott displayed “abnormal” observations.

Mrs Parrott was seen to stop breathing shortly before paramedics arrived, Ms Jones said.

The coroner continued: “When the rapid response paramedic attended, he was advised that Mrs Parrott had a [DNR] directive in place so did not commence CPR.”

A spokesman for The Elms said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of all our residents is our absolute priority.

“We are therefore deeply sorry that on this occasion, a mistake was made which led to this individual not being supported in line with their care plan when they fell critically ill.

“Since this historic incident occurred, we have made important changes to the way we communicate key information to our full-time and temporary care colleagues to ensure that such a mistake is not repeated.”

The inquest concluded Mrs Parrott died from natural causes.