Pensioner's fall in care was 'downplayed' before death, coroner says

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 19:56 BST, 9 August 2026 | Updated: 20:35 BST, 9 August 2026

A pensioner's fall in a care home which caused a traumatic brain injury was 'downplayed' before her death, a coroner has said.Christine Clegg, 79, was alone when she fell at Kesteven Grange Care Home in Hull, East Yorkshire, in June 2025, with a 111 call being made when she was discovered on the floor by a carer.The staff member told the 111 operator Mrs Clegg had 'put herself on the floor' and had a 'bump' on her head - although Mrs Clegg proceeded to pass away from her injury.After an inquest into her death concluded earlier this year, assistant coroner Sally Robinson said the injury was 'downplayed' and the 111 script for the 'biased' scenario meant Mrs Clegg did not immediately receive clinical treatment.Call operators follow scripts based on the scenario they are given, with the script for 'scratches, grazes or minor wounds' used also for some head injuries, which led to the 'wrong script' being used for Mrs Clegg's injury.If the operator had used the 'head, facial or neck injury' script, the outcome would have led the carers to 'speak to a clinician' no matter what the answers were.Instead the call ended with no clinical input, just basic first aid instructions, and Mrs Clegg suffered a traumatic subdural haemorrhage, the coroner wrote.Mrs Clegg deteriorated over the next few days, which led to her admission to hospital, where she died. Christine Clegg, 79, was alone when she fell at Kesteven Grange Care Home (pictured) in Hull , East Yorkshire, in June 2025, with the resulting traumatic brain injury 'downplayed' to 111Mrs Robinson, who has asked for changes to be made to 111 script protocol, said: 'The situation appears to have (been) downplayed and information passed to the operator which was biased information, suggesting Mrs Clegg had placed herself on the floor when in fact she had fallen from a bed, and which caused the wrong script to be followed by the operator.'In a prevention of future deaths report, Ms Robinson wrote: 'The head injury was actively bleeding and the script which should have been followed was that of head injury, but instead, because of the information given by the care staff, the script which was followed was the scratches, grazes or minor wounds pathway.'This resulted in a different outcome to the one the correct pathway was likely to recommend, which was to seek clinician input.' The report has been sent to Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and NHS Pathways, advising them to exclude all head injuries from being included in the 'scratches, grazes and nicks' script.Ms Robinson wrote: 'If injuries above the neck were excluded from the scratches, grazes and nicks pathway then the possibility of basic first aid advice being given is eliminated, as all head injury answered, result in clinician advice being sought.'Kesteven Grange Care Home has been contacted for comment.