Woman, 93, died after paramedics tried to lift her with bath towel

A grandmother died after suffering a fall when paramedics tried to lift her using a bath towel instead of authorised equipment, an inquest heard. Retired teacher Doreen Piling, 93, suffered a major fracture and was rushed to hospital, but developed pneumonia and died nearly two months later.

At an inquest into her death, held in April, coroner Christopher Long concluded that this was a "culpable human failure which contributed to Doreen’s death". Doreen's daughter Christine Fitzpatrick, 66, said seeing her mum suffer was "truly harrowing".

Speaking for the first time after the inquest, she said: "My mum was a lovely lady who gave so much to her family and local community in her life and she deserved so much better. Watching my mum suffer for so many weeks and die in such an undignified and distressing manner 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 at her home in Burnley, Lancashire, on September 3 last year. A technician attempted to lift Doreen off the floor with a rolled-up towel, instead of using authorised equipment from the ambulance.

She then fell to the floor in what was described as an "uncontrolled descent" and she fractured her right leg. She was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, where she developed pneumonia. After a long stay at Blackburn, and latterly Pendle Community Hospital, Doreen died on October 24.

Christine added: "As a family we are grateful to the coroner for considering my mum’s care so carefully and for reaching this conclusion, which we believe is the right one. I hope that changes can be put in place to ensure the same poor care is not repeated for another patient in the same situation."

Doreen, described as fiercely independent by her family, taught food technology to adults with learning disabilities at Burnley College before retiring. Before her death, Doreen lived in her own flat in a retirement complex in the town.

While her family helped her with her shopping, Doreen cooked all her own meals and enjoyed going out regularly for coffee. She had previously been a Salvation Army Soldier after her husband Ken’s death in 2008 and had enjoyed delivering food parcels to locals on Christmas Day.

Christine also raised concerns about her mother's hospital treatment before she died in October and made a complaint. While the coroner did not find this 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, a medical negligence solicitor at JMW Solicitors, which represented Doreen's family at the inquest, said: "I welcome the inquest findings, as they give much-needed answers to Doreen’s family. They witnessed her severe decline and the coroner’s conclusion confirms their belief that this all began with the careless mistake of the ambulance technician.

"This case highlights the catastrophic consequences that can occur from not following safety procedures when handling and lifting patients. This reckless approach should never have been taken with any patient, let alone an elderly person at increased risk of breaking a bone. It is vital that lessons are learned so that this doesn’t happen again."

A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson said, “We are truly sorry for the error in care that led to Mrs Pilling's injury before she was admitted to the hospital and we accept the coroner's findings. The staff involved have been given further training to ensure this type of incident does not happen again. We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Pilling’s family and apologise for the distress this incident has caused.”