A WELLINGTON care home allowed an elderly man with dementia to choke on his drink shortly before his death.

The man – known only as Mr J – was receiving care at the Camelot House and Lodge Nursing Home on the A38 Taunton Road in Wellington when he suffered a choking incident which meant he “turned purple and was unable to breathe”.

After Mr J’s death in September 2021, his daughter – known as Mrs F – complained to the care home’s management, describing her father’s death as “horrific”.

The home apologised, but Mrs F went on to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman complaining about the poor quality of care he received near the end of his life.

Somerset County Council – which commissioned Mr J’s care package – has agreed to pay £300 in compensation to the family and is working with the care home to prevent this tragic turn of events from being repeated.

Mr J, who was in his 80s, was admitted to the nursing home in August 2021, with the council partially funding his care.

He had an end-of-life care plan in place, which stated he should not go back to hospital unless his pain could not be properly managed, and was on a soft diet.

The care plan noted that he was prone to “episodes of coughing” during and after his meals, and should be supported accordingly by the nursing home staff and an assigned speech and language therapist.

The therapist in question recommended on September 14 that Mr J could only handle “slightly thick” fluids and that his food should be minced – though the latter recommendation was not implemented immediately. Mr J was subsequently provided with antibiotics and an inhaler after a local GP diagnosed him as having a possible chest infection.

On September 16, Mr J was found “alone, lying on his back, with his arms flailing, unable to breathe and very scared and distressed”, with very low levels of oxygen in his bloodstream.

A carer called for emergency assistance and gave Mrs F a “thickened drink” in a beaker to give to her father.

But when she tried to give Mr J the drink, the liquid “flowed too quickly” and he choked, with Mrs F saying he “turned purple and was unable to breathe”.

Mr J remained distressed for the rest of the afternoon, with a GP not responding until just before 10pm and prescribing pain relief medication. The following day (September 17, 2021), Mr J was found to be “very agitated” with an ulcerated mouth and was having difficulty breathing.

Further medication was provided and an aspiration machine was requested, but was not brought “for some time”, with Mr J passing away shortly after.

Mrs F complained to the care home’s management, describing her father’s death as “horrific” and alleging he had been provided with the wrong size of wheelchair upon being admitted.

The care home apologised in letters dated November 19 and December 16, but Mrs F was not satisfied and complained to the ombudsman.

The ombudsman’s investigation concluded that the care home had “accepted that there were incidents of poor care”, with carers’ actions causing “significant distress” to Mr J and his family.

While the amount and type of pain relief prescribed to Mr J was found to be acceptable, the ombudsman said the council needed to “do more to remedy the injustice” surrounding Mr J’s death.

The report concluded that the council should make a payment of £300 to the family, apologise to Mrs F, and work with the nursing home to ensure staff were properly trained about soft diets and that aspiration machines were always available to residents.