A war veteran fractured his hip during a fall at a care home - but was not taken to hospital until four days later.

Harry Trimmings, 93, failed to recover his health and died less than three weeks after the operation.

An internal investigation has since been carried out at Bradbury Grange in Whitstable and five members of staff - including the home and area managers - have quit.

The much-loved grandad, who landed on the beaches of Normandy in July 1944, was spotted by carer Faith Noble crouching between his bed and a chair following the fall on February 25 last year, an inquest heard.

Two other members of staff helped her move him into bed and when asked if he was in pain, he replied: “No”.

Mr Trimmings had lived at the care home since 2016 and suffered 10 previous falls when trying to climb in and out of bed. But staff failed to record the incident or contact relatives until the next day.

Staff carried out a full body assessment on Mr Trimmings to check for bruising or swelling - and found nothing.

"He wasn’t someone who wanted to die - he just embraced life and took it one day at a time..."

Carers told the inquest that he complained of leg pain for three days after the incident - but it was put down to arthritis.

They failed to inform a GP despite concerns from his relatives and other residents. But the policy of care home owner MHA states consent must be sought to inform a resident’s GP “as soon as possible”, even if there are no signs of major injury.

Mr Trimmings, who had dementia, had a pressure-sensitive mat under the bed to alert staff as he transferred himself from his wheelchair. The mat was supposed to be switched on at all times.

But an internal investigation, co-authored by MHA area manager Raden Mauremootoo, stated: “When questioning the staff as to why the alarm had not been activated they were unable to answer, therefore we can assume the sensor mat was not connected at the time of the incident.”

The report also identified “poor practice” occurred as staff supported Mr Trimmings to move into his bed. On March 1, he was found crying out in pain and a GP was called. He was later rushed to hospital and had surgery two days later.

But a surgeon told the inquest he did not recover well following the operation and was put on an end-of-life care pathway. Mr Trimmings went back to the home, which his daughter said he “loved”, and died on March 20.

Safeguarding lead at MHA Donna Eldridge acknowledged there had been “a communication failure” and said measures had been taken to improve the home.

The cause of death was given by the coroner was bronchopneumonia due to a chest infection - with acute and chronic renal failure and a hip fracture as contributing factors.

But a legal representative for MHA argued at the inquest: “The most appropriate conclusion is one of natural causes. The policies are adequate and appropriate, but sadly were not followed on this occasion.

“There are no further actions which can be taken to prevent a similar situation happening in the future.”

Assistant coroner James Dillon said: “For me, the largest issue I have to consider is the significance of the hip injury in relation to Mr Trimmings’ death.

"The policies are adequate and appropriate, but sadly were not followed on this occasion..."

“While it is a persuasive argument to conclude natural causes based on all of that, I find it difficult to ignore the hip fracture.

“I find for that reason it is unattractive to come to a natural cause conclusion.”

Mr Dillon, who gave a short narrative conclusion, said in his closing statement: “Harry Trimmings had a background of chronic renal failure and had been suffering a chest infection.

“On February 25, 2019, he had an unwitnessed fall, sustaining a right hip fracture for which treatment was not sought until March 1, 2019. A hip repair was conducted.

“His health, however, did not recover. He suffered acute and chronic renal failure and pneumonia leading to his death.”

A Care Quality Commission report which was published this month rated the home as “requires improvement” due to safety fears and risks to people’s health not always being assessed.

'He was full of life and had a strong sense of justice'

The family of Harry Trimmings, who died after fracturing his hip during a fall at a care home, say he had "a lot of life left to give".

Paying tribute to Mr Trimmings, his youngest daughter Olive Pearse said he used to cheer up depressed residents at the care home "he loved".

"He was full of life and had a really strong sense of justice," the 56-year-old said.

"He would always fight for an underdog and if something wasn’t right, he would always try to make that right.

"He obviously had dementia but he put his trust in us. He wasn’t someone who wanted to die - he just embraced life and took it one day at a time."

Mr Trimmings had been looking forward to going to the seaside and was excited for spring in the weeks before his fall. But tragically he died on the first day of the season.

Mrs Pearse added: "He thought the world of the staff [at the care home] and he looked forward to seeing the daffodils as they put them in his room."

Mr Trimmings was born in Clapham and worked for the NHS as an administrator for more than 40 years after he served in India during the Second World War.

After taking early retirement at 58, he loved to Whitstable more than 30 years ago with his wife Olive as he used to enjoy holidays there when he was younger.

He was a member of Whitstable RNLI and Friends of Duncan Downs - and used to raise money for the British Limbless Association.

Mr Trimmings was the youngest of eight children and leaves behind his two daughters: Olive and Sally.

An MHA spokesman said: Firstly we again extend our condolences to Mr Trimmings’ family on the loss of their loved one.

"Since the incident happened at MHA Bradbury Grange, we have put in place a range of measures to prevent incidents like this happening again.

"This includes reminders and information for staff on checks of sensor mats, repeat falls risk management training, a newly introduced communication process, and a review of the approach to monitoring of falls incidence.

"In addition, there is a new management team at Bradbury Grange, along with a general action plan to continue improvements in the care offered to our residents there."

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