Legal action taken over 'inhumane' treatment at Walsall Manor Hospital
Legal action has been launched against a hospital after claims that a woman with severe learning disabilities received poor care and a doll which she treated like a baby was badly damaged.
The family of Susan Hearsey claim that the 64 year old was subjected to 'inhumane' treatment after being admitted to Walsall Manor.
Formal proceedings have now been launched against Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust over the care she received in September 2013 and the impact it has had on her life. The family claim that staff were distracted while on duty and lacked an understanding of her special needs. It is also alleged that she was not provided adequate hygienic care and that the doll she loved as if it was her own baby was deliberately damaged by a nurse because Ms Hearsey was not doing as she was told.
Human rights expert Merry Varney from law firm Leigh Day, who is representing the family, said there are a number of 'deeply concerning' areas.
Ms Hearsey was admitted to the hospital following a fall while she was in a residential home. She had lived with her parents on the Beechdale estate until their death 15 years ago.
According to her sister, Jane Dunn, the doll, named Rachel, was found on the floor with its arm severed, some clothes missing, the legs damaged and chunks of its hair missing. It is also claimed that staff had been throwing the doll to each other like a ball.
Other allegations include that Ms Hearsey was unclean and unkempt, an air mattress was found deflated and she was found in a soiled bed. It has also been claimed that a nurse stuck her fingers up Ms Hearsey's nose causing it to bleed when she wouldn't take her medicine. Her family say that since her stay at the hospital she has lost weight and become withdrawn.
Merry Varney said: "We are deeply concerned about a number of alarming aspects of Susan's care during her stay at the Manor Hospital in 2013.
"The ordeal has left Susan devastated and her family describe her as only a shell of the person she was.
"We will now work with the family to ensure they have access to the answers they need with regards the quality of care received by Susan.
"We would urge the trust to commission an independent investigation which is capable of ensuring those responsible are held to account and that all steps are taken to minimise the risk of this ever happening again."
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust was unavailable for comment.
