A care home doctored records while under investigation for failing to report a resident's falls, which left her with a broken hip and in “agony” for over a MONTH before she died.

Monica O'Donnell was only taken to hospital 32 days after she first fell and broke her hip. She died six weeks after finally getting it replaced.

Parkfield House Nursing Home, Mrs O'Donnell's GPs and Hillingdon Council, which failed to properly investigate the case, have all now been found at fault by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

Mrs O'Donnell's daughter, Angela Kelly, who has fought for three years to find out what happened, said: “I feel no sense of victory. You shouldn't have to go through all this to get to the truth.”

She added: “The whole thing was a shambles from start to finish. I think the failures contributed to my mum's death because I think the pain in that month of her life was extremely stressful.”

The 77-year-old, who had Alzheimer's disease, was seen five times by doctors after complaining of pain in her right thigh and being unable to walk.

But staff at Parkfield House, in Charville Lane West, Uxbridge, failed to tell either the GPs or Miss Kelly that they had found Mrs O'Donnell in pain on the floor on the day of the first call-out.

'Agony'

Miss Kelly, 51, of Beverley Road, Ruislip, said: “She used to walk about 16 hours a day up until the day she fell and the previous day she was dancing.

“My daily visits to see my mother caused me a lot of anxiety and moving her in the wheelchair she was now confined to was difficult and agony for her.

“If we accidentally brushed against a piece of furniture she would tear at her hair. Her moans were so loud and her distress was becoming intolerable to witness.

“From the time I was informed that she had a sore leg I continued to question her treatment. I knew something was very wrong but I had no idea that I wasn’t being told the truth.”

The care home eventually agreed to take Mrs O'Donnell to hospital for an X-ray, acting on GP recommendations, but then waited five days to do so. And, shockingly, the care home's manager, who has since left, blamed Miss Kelly for the original delay.

At Hillingdon Hospital, in Pield Heath Road, staff raised a safeguarding alert, recommending Hillingdon Council investigate the care home's actions.

The council closed its initial investigation without telling Miss Kelly, having concluded that the care home acted appropriately.

But the LGO has now ruled that the council's investigation was inadequate and should have recorded a decision of substantiated neglect.

A second safeguarding investigation by the council found that the care home had altered key records, its documents conflicted with one another and its daily statements were “scant”.

In a report, the LGO said: “The alteration of the record is a very serious issue and we have seen no evidence that shows the council recognised the seriousness of this at the time.”

The GP practice, Oakland Medical Centre, in Parkway, Uxbridge, was criticised by the LGO for failing to keep adequate records and not having had enough suspicion about Mrs O'Donnell's suffering.

However, the LGO's report said the practice had since taken “appropriate steps” to address its record keeping.

Apologies

Miss Kelly, who spent countless hours building her case, taking it to NHS England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and MP Sir John Randall, as well as the council and the LGO, said: “It's like I was walking down a hallway, knowing where I wanted to get: I wanted to find out what had happened to my mum.

“But on my left were windows to NHS England, the council and the CQC, who kept closing the shutters. And on my right were the GPs and the care home, who were throwing rocks at me."

She added: “Unless they victimised me, and I don't believe they did, this might be happening to everyone.

“I'd hate to think that someone alive currently is suffering and having to face this.”

The council, which funded Mrs O'Donnell's time in the home from July 2011 to March 2012, was told to apologise to Miss Kelly and pay her £500 for her distress.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are sorry for the circumstances surrounding this case and have made a payment of £500 to the family of the resident.

"As a result of the investigation the council has worked closely with the Care Quality Commission and Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group to address the issues of poor quality by Parkfield [House] Nursing Home.

“There has been a change of management at the home and our Safeguarding and Quality team has overseen the implementation of an improvement action plan, and continues to work closely with the home to help it improve further, in order that current and future residents receive the standard of care that they deserve."

The care home and GP practice were also told to apologise and pay Miss Kelly £1,000 and £750 respectively.

Halton Services Ltd, which runs the care home, declined to comment, as did Oakland Medical Centre.

In a lengthy letter sent to Miss Kelly in 2013, the practice said: "[We] would like to apologise that you and your family have been through such an upsetting experience. We are deeply sorry that you still feel upset about the care your mother received and the distress your mother has experienced."

The letter ended: "We have tried our best to reply fully and honestly to help you and also to help learn so that we can help our patients better. That is always our wish as doctors."