Dementia patient's hair 'butchered' in hospital without consent as police launch probe

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A police investigation has been launched after a dementia patient had her hair "butchered" without permission after a hospital failed to spot her broken neck.Kathleen Blank, 79, was being treated at Aintree Hospital when they missed her broken neck and shaved off her hair without asking.

Her daughter, Lorraine Rothwell, said her mum had been admitted to the premises on February 17 after she suffered a fall at St Nicholas Dementia Village.After a CAT scan and blood tests were completed, Kathleen was diagnosed with a left-sided rib fracture and discharged from hospital around 1:.30pm.

One hour later, A&E contacted her care home with a 999 call and arranged for her immediate return to hospital.Lorraine said the hospital told her they had missed something on the CAT scan and subsequently discovered her mum was suffering from a stabilised fracture to the skull and a subarachnoid hemorrhage to the brain.

She waited over two days to be placed on a hospital ward.Lorraine found her mum in a bed with a spinal collar fitted. As reported in our sister title, Liverpool Echo, this caused Lorraine to "freak out" because she knew what it meant.She said: "I have worked in healthcare for over 20 years so, when I saw my mum I immediately thought she'd suffered a broken neck.