A care home resident died after foreign staff were unable to explain the seriousness of her accident, a coroner’s inquest has heard.

Barbara Rymell, 91, who had dementia, died after being trapped under a stairlift after being left unattended at South West Care Homes’ Ashley House in Somerset on 8 August 2022.

The inquest heard that the two carers on duty, who were Romanian and Indian, were unable to explain the seriousness of the incident to emergency services because of their poor English.

One of the carers was not qualified or permitted to work in the UK as she had not passed a Secure English Language Test.

Ms Rymell’s daughter, Elaine Curtis, said she had been left for hours waiting to hear what had happened to her mother because of the poor English of the carers she spoke to on the telephone.

In a prevention of future deaths report sent to minister for care, Helen Whately, coroner, Samantha Marsh, called for government action, commenting: “By being unable to speak the native language of England with any proficiency I am concerned that deaths will continue to arise where those who are young, disabled, suffering from a mental impairment or who are elderly and in need of urgent medical help will not have this summoned for them if those who are engaging with emergency professionals are unable to communicate effectively.”

In a statement to the BBC, South West Care Homes said their sympathies were with Ms Rymell’s family and were working closely with the authorities on the “isolated incident”.

The company added: “We strive always to offer the best possible care to all our residents, and since Mrs Rymell’s death we have instigated a range of management and auditing improvements to further enhance the care we provide at Ashley House.”