Daughter pulls father out of care home after 'fall leaves him bedbound'

A Harold Hill daughter took her father out of a care home after she said he suffered a fall which left him bedbound.

Hillside Nursing Home did not give details of the alleged incident, but said “safety and wellbeing" of residents is always a top priority, and if any incidents happen, they are reported to "partners in their regulatory capacity".

Sam Newby’s 74-year-old father Robert Newby had lived at Hillside for around two years, after being diagnosed with dementia three years before.

Robert before the fall (Image: Sam Newby)

The 53-year-old said her dad was supposed to receive 24-hour care at Hillside in Harold Hill, but on June 24 she says he suffered a fall in a hallway which led to a bleed on his brain.

He is now "bedbound" and can no longer recognise his family by voice as he could before, Sam said.

Robert's head injury after the fall at Hillside (Image: Sam Newby)

A Gold Care Homes spokesperson, which runs Hillside, said the “safety and wellbeing of residents” is always a first priority.

They said it ensures care and support given is “in the best interests” of the people in its facililty, with a “personalised care package centred on the needs of the resident”.

However, “as a responsible provider”, it said, it cannot discuss or give details of individuals' care outside of its support structure.

The spokesperson added: “Due to the nature of caring for vulnerable adults, incidents can sometimes occur, and in the event of any incident or near miss, we immediately inform and work with our partners in their regulatory capacity to ensure the safety of our residents is assured.”

Robert was taken to Queen's Hospital after the fall (Image: Sam Newby)

Sam said: “I had put my trust in them and for this to happen and my dad to now be noncoherent is all very worrying.”

A CQC spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of an incident at Hillside Care Home, as part of our usual regulatory function. Whilst we don’t investigate individual incidents, we use any information received to inform our monitoring of services and inspection activity.”

Sam is now caring for her dad at her Harold Hill home, where she lives with her two 21-year-old children and partner.

Sam with her dad, Robert, who she is happy to care for at home (Image: Sam Newby)

Sam urged anyone looking for care homes to “look around and research everything”, especially the provision's Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings.