A coroner’s inquest into the death of a 97-year-old woman has found she received “suboptimal care”.

The inquest is one of three being held into the deaths of former residents of The Elms in Whittlesey which was one of four care homes closed by HC-One last year due to staffing problems.

Coroner Caroline Jones found Mrs Canham had died from a “community acquired infection”, adding “red flags” in her condition should have been investigated sooner.

The coroner said it was not possible to say whether Mrs Canham would have lived had she been admitted to hospital sooner.

Mrs Canham died at Peterborough City Hospital of sepsis and a chest infection on 23 February 2019.

A spokesperson for HC-One said: “Everyone at The Elms was deeply saddened by the passing of Mrs Canham four years ago, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with her family.

“We are clear that The Elms should have provided the right standard of care to Mrs Canham, and all residents at the home, but the management and record-keeping we had in place at the time fell far short of everyone’s expectations. We are deeply sorry to Ms Canham’s family for these shortcomings, and for their experience engaging with our teams over the past four years.

“Our priority is that every resident that makes their home with us receives the very best care. A lot has changed in the organisation over the past four years – and a lot of work continues at our Cambridgeshire homes, under new local leadership, to make specific and targeted improvements within the county.

“Once the remaining two Inquests have concluded later this week we will review the coroner’s rulings and recommendations from all cases in detail and will make any requested changes.”