Care home death inquest finishes

Ms Hasselbery-Langley required 24-hour care

The family of a disabled teenager who died after being scalded in a bath at a care home, said they still have many unanswered questions after the inquest.

Yelena Hasselberg-Langley, 18, suffered 20% burns when she was put into the bath at a home in Owens Way in Cowley.

She was taken to hospital, but died of multiple organ failure four days later.

An Oxford inquest jury, which returned a narrative verdict, heard the bath had not been fitted with a thermostat to regulate the water temperature.

Ms Hasselberg-Langley needed 24-hour care because she had cerebral palsy, epilepsy and was partially-sighted.

Her father Dr Keith Langley said: "While addressing a number of outstanding issues enabling some closure to her traumatic death - this inquest has nonetheless raised a number of unanswered questions."

A carer, Pamela Booker, told the coroner she had not been properly trained on how to use the bath and so had refused to use it.

Instead, Ms Booker said she prepared Ms Hasselberg-Langley for her bath by changing her before placing her into a sling and lowering her into the water.

Ms Booker told the inquest that the teenager went rigid and her skin was reddening so she shouted to her colleague to raise the hoist.

'Control measures'

A second woman who was helping to care for the victim told the jury she tested the water before Ms Hasselberg-Langley was lowered into it and had been happy it was at the right temperature.

Oxford Coroner's Court head that the bath had not been fitted with a thermostat that would have limited the temperature to 44C (111F).

Without it, the water could reach up to 66C (151F).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said support staff had not received sufficient training on how to operate it and there was no mention in the handover document as to how the equipment should be used safely.

A jury of four men and five women returned a narrative verdict

This allows factual statements on the events leading to deaths to be recorded.

Matthew Lee from the HSE said: "It's a reminder for other people who might be involved in the care of vulnerable patients to ensure they have in place adequate control measures to prevent the risk of scalding."

The HSE has also issued three improvement notices to try and prevent this from happening again.

It is still considering a criminal investigation into corporate failure.