Orchard Care Homes has issued an apology after a daughter complained her mother had been left in a urine soaked bed and continence pad just days before she died.

The incident, which was revealed in a report by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman, took place at Lofthouse Grange care home in Wakefield.

The complainant, referred to as Ms B, said the care provider had failed to take clinical observation of her mother, referred to as Ms C, when her sister raised concerns she was struggling to breathe.

She said the care provider failed to give full information to the GP which delayed a visit.

Ms C was treated for pneumonia at hospital and sadly died a few days later.

Orchard accepted a number of failings in Ms C’s care, including: giving Ms B differing information about Ms C having a bloody nose; placing nicotine patches on Ms C’s breast knowing she had breast cancer; missing an application of a patch to prevent respiratory secretions; either failing to tell her family of a GP visit or failing to properly record it had told them; and failing to provide appropriate continence care resulting in Ms C lying in urine.

Noting Orchard’s apologies and actions to improve future service, the Ombudsman decided not to investigate the complaint, adding he could not conclude negligence or say the actions taken by the home led to death of the resident.

A spokesperson for Orchard Care Homes commented: “The wellbeing and dignity of people within our care is always of paramount importance. After a full internal investigation into this incident, procedures have been thoroughly reviewed and measures put in place to ensure this never happens again. We are deeply sorry that our usual standards were not met during this isolated incident, and we will continue to strive to ensure that our 100% ‘Good’ CQC standard across our homes is continuously met.”

Nichola Esmond, Wakefield Council’s service director for older people and physical disabilities, said: “Wakefield Council takes its responsibilities for caring for vulnerable people in our district very seriously and we are fully committed to ensuring that our residents have access to high quality care home accommodation.

“As we currently contract with this care home, we will seek assurances from them and other organisations to ensure that processes are in place to quickly address and resolve any potential issues and support them to deliver the compassionate, caring services that our residents need.”