Elderly woman died after slap

An 82-year-old Lincolnshire woman died after she was slapped in hospital by another woman who was also in her eighties.

The incident happened in a hospital ward in Spalding, after one patient started stealing food, an inquest at Spalding magistrates was told.

The hearing was told that tensions mounted in the geriatric ward of the Welland Hospital, as one elderly woman started pulling pillows from behind the heads of other patients and stealing food.

Two patients were said to be quite unsettled after the incident and were taken by a nurse into the hospital garden to calm down.

One had become agitated and slapped Mildred Decamps, who came from Whaplode, near Spalding.

The nurse left the ward to write an incident report and when he returned Mrs Decamps was lying on the floor, with the other patient.

She had suffered a severe head injury and was taken to another hospital where she later died.

The coroner, Maureen Taylor, recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying that Mrs Decamps had been slapped but there was no evidence she had been pushed.