Inquest told stranger's details used in care plan at Wymondham home

Care home staff copied details of the wrong person into a woman's care plan in the weeks before she died, an inquest has heard.

Janice Hopper, 74, was taken to hospital from Windmill House, in Wymondham, Norfolk last January after she stopped taking fluids.

The hearing was told of failures at the home and delays in addressing them.

Coroner Jacqueline Lake concluded she died from natural causes but will issue a Prevention of Future Deaths Report.

Mrs Hopper had been admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital with a fractured hip in December 2021.

Attempts to discharge her to a community hospital failed due to a lack of beds and she was subsequently sent to the care home on New Year's Eve.

Maria Stone, a care team leader, was unable to explain why Mrs Hopper's date of admittance was recorded on her care plan as 22 July 2022.

The court was also shown a documentation intended to show her food and drink needs due to her diabetes but the relevant boxes were empty.

Under a section titled Infection Control Policy, a passage read "George and my family are happy with being tested", along with further details of that person's requirements.

This was taken from another resident's care plan.

Mrs Lake asked whether it had been "cut and pasted".

Ms Stone replied: "I can't remember."

Elsewhere, the document described Mrs Hooper as "a sociable man".

Mrs Hopper's husband Christopher cross-examined several of the witnesses himself and told the court the family felt his wife's short time at the home had worsened her Alzheimer's.

Mrs Lake highlighted a lack of action on the part of the care home to address the shortcomings.

"It is clear some action has only just been taken," she said. "Still not all these steps have been started and many remain outstanding and on that basis I do propose writing a [Prevention of Future Deaths Report]."

Kerry Tidd, who also works at the home, told the hearing: "We have put a lot in place as a result of what's happened.

"Things are changing," she said. "The culture in the home is changing."

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