Inquest into Paul Chin's death at Woodchurch House Care Home
12:40, 09 July 2019
updated: 13:34, 09 July 2019
Emotions ran high at the start of a three-week inquest into the death of a man at a care home.
Paul Chin's father was forced to take a ten-minute break during his testimony, as he became increasingly riled at the Ashford care home's representative.
Mr Chin, 47, was admitted to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate in October 2014 following the appearance of necrotic skin and a period of increased confusion - later found to be cause by reactive acerebral tuberculosis.
Following steady improvement at the facility, the Margate musician was transferred to Woodchurch House Care Home in January 2015. Ten months later, he had died of acute chronic kidney infection.
The inquest commenced at Maidstone's County Hall yesterday after almost four years of evidence gathering, with a number of lawyers aiming to defend the actions of their respective parties.
Dr Katherine Hills, a QEQM consultant physician and gastroenterologist at the time of Paul's treatment, gave the view that he was recovering when he was discharged.
Despite his "non-compliance" during attempts to give him a diagnostic MRI scan, the open bedsores on his legs and hip had halved in size over his three-month stay.
Upon his placement in Woodchurch his family rebelled, saying it was too far away from their London home.
Queries were raised by Sam Jacobs - representing Paul's parents - regarding phrasing in the discharge papers, in which it was claimed Mr Chin had "no rehabilitation potential".
Mr Jacobs said: "That a man in his late 40s is beyond rehabilitation is quite a stark finding.
"Paul was admitted to the home in a bedbound state, the hospital made it very clear that he had reached his full rehabilitative potential and would be bedbound for the rest of his life. Is that different to the Woodchurch papers?"
Dr Hills responded: "Yes I think that's different to what they said in the discharge. He was making progress and saying he'd be bedbound for the rest of his life - I think that's a sweeping statement."
Mr Jacob said:"Is it not a very significant problem that they received a patient believing they have no rehabilitation potential when that's not the view of the doctors?
"It doesn't sound very good. I don't think it was unreasonable that he could've been further rehabilitated," said Dr Hills.
"They banned my family from going down there because I was questioning the care he was getting..." - Terence Chin, Paul's dad
Mr Chin's dad Terence then took the witness stand, and directed malice at the care home's handling of his son's case.
He said: "They banned my family from going down there because I was questioning the care he was getting.
"From the time he went to Woodchurch he didn't leave his room once."
Assistant coroner Sonia Hayes, presiding, clarified: "So Paul went in in January and he passed away in November. You're saying he never even went into the garden?"
Angrily, Terence Chin said: "Never, they promised all kinds of things but it never materialised.
He made accusations of racist treatment towards himself and his son, and got irritated by a seemingly repetitive line of questioning from Alison Hewitt, Woodchurch House's representative.
After increasingly interrupting the lawyer, Ms Hayes said to Mr Chin: "Mr Chin, I'm giving you a ten minute break. It's her job.
"The last mile's always the hardest and you've waited a long time to get here."
The inquest continues until Friday, July 26.
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