PSNI “failures” to investigate injuries in dementia patients

Warning: This article contains disturbing anonymous letters and disturbing images that may be disturbing to some readers

The PSNI has been accused of treating an elderly dementia patient and her family with contempt after a police investigation into unexplained injuries she suffered in a care home found “significant failings”.

Lily Rawson, who was in her late 70s, suffered four separate injuries while living at Bangor Care Home at various times in 2019 and 2020.

A police ombudsman’s investigation concluded the PSNI team had missed “significant opportunities to provide evidence” when investigating allegations of ill-treatment or abuse and recommended two officers be disciplined.

The PSNI said it needed time to review the findings and BBC News NI understands two officers have been disciplined.

However, Lily Rawson’s family said this response was not good enough.

Her daughter Alison McEwen said she felt at times dismissed and “treated with contempt” by police.

She said it was an insult to her mother, who died in 2021, that two police officers received a “slap on the wrist” and that police had failed a vulnerable woman.

Ms McEwan has called for the case to be reopened.

“I would like to ask (Chief Constable) Jon Boutcher, who I consider to be a decent man, to give us and my mother the investigation that she should have done while she was alive,” she said.

“She was entitled to a proper investigation and was not afforded it.”

Their call received support from the chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s justice committee, DUP MLA Joanne Bunting.

“This case will honestly haunt me until the day I die; The details and photos are disturbing and distressing,” Ms Bunting said.

Lily Rawson’s story was previously featured on a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight program when Ms McEwen said she went to the police in June 2019 after her mother was found on the floor of her room in the dementia unit at Bangor Care Home and bleeding from a head wound.

There was blood in the room and blood spatters could be seen on the ceiling.

At the time, Bangor Care Home said it was an unwitnessed and unexplained incident that was believed to be a fall.

Dementia sufferers, particularly older people, are at high risk of falls, but Lily Rawson continued to suffer injuries including severe bruising and a broken finger.

Ms McEwen then received an anonymous letter home in which she called Lily a “naughty bitch”.

A second letter said that a named nurse at the nursing home knew what happened to Lily.

Police said no crime had been established, either in relation to the letters or Ms Rawson’s injuries.

In a 41-page letter to Ms McEwen, Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson said the first senior investigating officer (Officer 1) appointed to the case had neither adult protection training nor a common protocol – the procedure, according to where police and health authorities jointly investigate alleged mistreatment or abuse.

It was also found that Officer 1 did not have the marks on the ceiling forensically examined to determine whether they were blood – despite this being “a priority measure”.

And he failed to take key witness statements, including from the employee who found Lily Rawson bleeding.

Ms Anderson said Officer 1’s conduct did not meet the required standards of his job and recommended he be disciplined.

The Ombudsman also found that another official, Officer 3 – the case manager – could not provide evidence that he had given regular instructions or carried out regular supervisory reviews of the investigation to ensure that investigative actions were being carried out.

The ombudsman said Officer 3 should also be disciplined.

Ms McEwen said the Ombudsman’s findings confirmed her view that the PSNI never took her mother’s case seriously. But there are still many unanswered questions, she added.

“I want to know what happened every time she got hurt. The only way to fix the problem is a proper investigation. The evidence is still there,” she said.

The Police Ombudsman is currently conducting a wider investigation into police safeguarding policies and practices, which will be completed soon.

In a statement, the PSNI said it takes any suspected neglect or abuse in a care facility extremely seriously.

“We accept the Police Ombudsman’s review of our investigation and take his findings into account,” it said.

“We will now take the time as a service to respond to and address any issues highlighted therein.

“We remain committed to continued professional development and learning.”

When Lily Rawson lived in the house, it was owned by Four Seasons Health Care Group.

In 2022, Four Seasons stated that it “does not recognize the allegations relating to the historic operations of the Bangor Nursing Home and will always fully and openly address any concerns raised through its complaints process.”

It added that the home was subject to six government inspections between 2018 and 2022 and there were never any enforcement actions. The Bangor Care Home was sold to new owners in July 2022.