A grandmother died after suffering a fall when paramedics tried to pick her up using a towel instead of the permitted equipment, an inquest heard.
Doreen Piling suffered a serious broken leg after an ambulance technician tried to lift the 93-year-old woman off the bathroom floor with a towel and take her to hospital on September 3 last year.
The retired teacher was eventually taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where she developed pneumonia and died almost two months later.
At an inquest into her death held in April, Coroner Christopher Long concluded that the paramedic’s decision was “a culpable human failure which contributed to Doreen’s death”.
Doreen’s daughter Christine Fitzpatrick, 66, said seeing her mum suffer was “really harrowing”.
Christine’s described her mother as a “completely independent” woman who had previously been a Salvation Army soldier following the death of her husband Ken in 2008 and enjoyed delivering food parcels to local residents on Christmas Day.
Speaking for the first time after the inquest, Christine said: “My mum was a beautiful lady who gave so much in her life to her family and the local community and deserved so much more.
“Watching my mum suffer for so many weeks and die in such an undignified and heartbreaking way was truly harrowing and something we will never fully recover from.”
An ambulance was called when Doreen was found unable to move in the bathroom of her home in Burnley, Lancashire, on September 3 last year.
The technician tried to lift Doreen off the floor with a rolled towel instead of using the authorized equipment from the ambulance.
She then fell to the floor in what was described as an “uncontrolled descent” and broke her right leg.
She was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital where she developed pneumonia.
After a long stay in Blackburn and later in Pendle Community Hospital, Doreen died on October 24.
Christine added: “As a family we are grateful to the coroner for considering my mother’s care so carefully and for coming to this conclusion, which we believe is the right one.
“I hope that changes can be made to ensure that the same poor care does not happen again to another patient in the same situation.”
Described by her family as fiercely independent, Doreen taught food technology to adults with learning disabilities at Burnley College before retiring.
Before her death, Doreen lived in her own apartment in a retirement complex in the city.
While her family helped her with the shopping, Doreen cooked all her own meals and enjoyed going out for coffee regularly.
As well as working with the Salvation Army, Christine also raised concerns about her mother’s hospital treatment before her death in October and lodged an official complaint.
While the coroner did not find it played a role in Doreen’s death, he asked the hospital to provide full details of how the charts are audited and checked.
Madeleine Langmead, medical negligence solicitor at JMW Solicitors, who represented Doreen’s family at the inquest, said: “I welcome the results of the inquest as they provide much needed answers to Doreen’s family.
“They witnessed her seriously decline and the coroner’s conclusion confirms their belief that it all started with a careless error by an ambulance technician.
“This case highlights the catastrophic consequences that can occur when safety procedures are not followed when handling and lifting patients.
“This reckless approach should never be used on any patient, let alone an elderly person at increased risk of bone fracture.
“It’s important that we learn from it so it doesn’t happen again.”
A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service said: “We are truly sorry for the error in care that led to Ms Pilling being injured before she was admitted to hospital and we accept the coroner’s findings.
“Staff have received additional training to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.
“We offer our sincere condolences to Ms Pilling’s family and apologize for the distress this incident has caused.”