A daughter has complained to the Ombudsman that a lack of support for her mother contributed to her premature death at a Suffolk care home.

The complaint by the woman, referred to as Ms C, concerned the care of her mother (Mrs D) at Henley House care home, which is operated by Greensleeves Care.

Mrs D died on 5 July 2021 a day after being admitted to hospital. She had suffered falls at the home  lost weight following her admission on 11 May.

The Ombudsman found the care provider’s care plans and risk assessments were unclear and failed to properly assess a sensor mat which may have contributed to Mrs D’s second fall.

The Ombudsman found no evidence the provider checked on Mrs D for several hours on the morning when Ms C arrived and found her soaked in urine.

There were also no nutrition charts between 22 June and 1 July after the care provider had concerns about Mrs D’s weight.

Fault was also found with the provider for failing to check Mrs D’s wellbeing or gain advice when she had a temperature, the day before she was admitted to hospital.

However, the Ombudsman said there was not enough evidence to say whether Mrs D would not have fallen had the provider acted without fault.

Greensleeves agreed to apologise for the failures identified and pay Ms C £500 for her time, trouble, and avoidable distress. It also committed to review its policies, remind, and if necessary provide training to staff members about daily recording, updating risk assessments and care plans; and responding to complaints.

A spokesperson for Henley House said: “We are very sorry about Mrs D and Ms C’s experience while with us, and would like to again apologise for the shortcomings identified.

“Henley House fully accepted the recommendations made by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman. Since 2021, we have made significant improvements within the care home, which is now under a new management team.

“Improvements include changes to processes, along with extra support for colleagues to embed a high standard of care recording, risk assessment and communication with our residents and their families.”