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‘My mum is screaming for justice, from the grave’

Robert Fenn says his late mother's experience in a care home contributed to her death, when she passed away in July 2022.

Robert Fenn says his late mother's experience in a care home contributed to her death, when she passed away in July 2022.

Irene Fenn, who had Alzheimer's, was an 86-year-old resident of Heathbrook House in Bromsgrove. Her son told ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Hereford & Worcester that in the two years she lived there, her life was a 'misery'.

Since his mum's death, Robert, who lives in Droitwich, has been fighting for answers from Bupa, which runs Heathbrook House, and the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

Gavin Kermack reports.

Heathbrook House was inspected by the CQC in April 2022, 3 months before Irene's death, and in January last year - on both occasions its safety and leadership were rated as "requires improvement", which was also its overall rating.

At the earlier investigation, inspectors found residents didn't always get the right medicine at the right time, some were at risk of skin damage because they weren't moved often enough, and there weren't always enough staff to meet the needs of residents.

The later investigation found the home had made sufficient improvement in all these areas, although there was still work to be done on giving medicine and risk management.

We contacted Heathbrook House, which sent us a statement via Bupa, again apologising for its care falling short and offering its condolences to Robert and his family.

It said that since Irene's death it has refreshed staff training in wound prevention and management, medication management and sepsis awareness, and had a new management team in place.

The Care Quality Commission also offered its condolences and said it was making enquiries to establish whether a criminal offence has been committed within the CQC's remit, and would keep the Fenn family updated.

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5 minutes