A 'LIVELY and cheerful' Winchester woman died in hospital following a fall, an inquest heard.

Catherine Gunner, of Park Road Care Home, died in Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital on December 16.

The inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court on June 21 heard that Ms Gunner, 93, had fallen in the bedroom of the care home, run by Brendoncare.

An ambulance was called and Ms Gunner had surgery after an X-ray found she had fractured her hip.

After surgery she started to deteriorate and was put on palliative care until she died.

Ms Gunner's daughter, Mary Francis gave a statement which was read by assistant coroner Rachel Spearing.

It said: “She was active in her garden and was an educated lady. She liked to spend time with her family.

“She moved into the care home in 2019 due to increasing risk of falls.”

The inquest heard that Ms Gunner's memory declined over the Covid lockdown and that she spent the majority of time in bed.

When Ms Gunner fell on December 7, staff at the care home called for an ambulance, but there was a long delay for it to arrive.

The inquest heard that the call was made at 5.14pm, but the ambulance arrived at 8.47pm.

It was a category three case, which meant the usual ambulance response time would be within 120 minutes. However, there was a backlog of calls, with 14 pending at the time.

Francesca Dekker, head of quality and compliance at Brendoncare, said: “Ms Gunner developed an increasing risk of falls when she was at the home.”

Ms Spearing said: “Ms Gunner lived a thoroughly resilient and happy life. She suffered a fall on December 7. She spent most of the day in bed and had declined in her mental state and frailty.

“Ms Gunner was at high risk of having a fall and was reviewed monthly by the care home staff. The family had no concerns over the quality of her care.

“Due to the fall, she fractured her right neck of femur. An ambulance was called, but there was an extraordinary delay.

“After being admitted to hospital, she was put on palliative care on December 14.”

A narrative conclusion was given. Ms Spearing said: “Ms Gunner experienced a fall which lead to the fracture which was operated on. This furthered the decline in her health.”

READ MORE: What happens at an inquest and what can the press report?

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