Dementia patient dies after being found soiled with vomit and urine

A patient with dementia died after being found soiled with vomit and urine by their child.

The parent had been left unattended overnight with no personal care, their incontinence pad was found soaked in urine and appeared to have not been changed for a “significant” period of time.

The patient’s family complained about their treatment and said the failings in care led to them developing aspiration pneumonia – a severe infection caused by bacteria in the lungs – and was ultimately the cause of their death.

The patient’s children also raised concerns about their skin care as well as the monitoring and recording of their vital signs.

An investigation by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) sought advice from medical experts and found that there had been failings in the patient’s nursing care.

The watchdog also found issues with the management of pressure ulcers, malnutrition screening and the execution of person-centred care planning.

SPSO said there were difficulties in assessing the standard of care given due to the board’s failures in following the Nursing and Midwifery Council record keeping standards.

While there were some areas for improvement with the handling of the family’s complaint, the watchdog said that communication with them had not been “unreasonable”.

However, the watchdog did say that NHS Lothian failed to handle the complaint in line with their procedures.

The Ombudsman told NHS Lothian to apologise, upholding the complaint.

The board was told it should make improvements including prescribing appropriate palliative medication at all times and ensuring that patients receive assessments and care planning reflective of their needs.

Dr Tracey Gillies, medical director for NHS Lothian, said: “We sincerely apologise to C and A’s family for the failings in nursing care and medication.

“We are implementing the findings of the report and will ensure complaints are handled in line with procedure.”