Rosie Bright from Coundon, says it took an NHS trust four-and-a-half years to respond to a formal complaint, but feels she was robbed of more precious time with her mum Rosebud Turnerson Palmer, who died in January 2020.

Her concerns began in October 2019, when her mum, 91, was admitted to Darlington Memorial Hospital with a urinary tract infection.

She was discharged home a few days later, but was back in hospital within days suffering from pneumonia. Rosie believes her mother had been “rushed out” before she was well enough.

She says her mum went downhill from there and that she repeatedly raised concerns that her mother was approaching the end of her life, and believed she should receive hospice or palliative care.

Rosebud Palmer (Image: FAMILY)

However, she says hospital staff and a palliative care nurse told her that her mum was not dying and did not qualify for hospice admission.

A few days later she died in her care home.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust has apologised for delays in responding to her concerns and for “failings in the care of her mother”.

Rosie, who was her mum’s sole carer for 32 years, described her mum as “an absolute joy” who would tell brilliant stories.

“She was a marvellous, kind and cheeky human who would help anyone and would ask for nothing in return,” Rosie said.

Rosie Bright, Rosebud’s daughter (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“She was generous, considerate and was one of the first female tree surgeons in the UK; she was a truly brilliant woman.”

But by the time she was being cared for at Weardale Community Hospital in November 2019, Rosie says she “wasn’t herself anymore”.

Weardale Community Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Ms Bright says her mother’s condition deteriorated significantly and that she witnessed seizures, hallucinations, problems communicating, poor fluid intake and a rapid decline in her general health.

“I could tell something wasn’t quite right. I’d come and see her, and she’d look rigid.

“I could see she was fading”.

Mrs Palmer was subsequently transferred to Redworth House in Shildon on January 9, 2020.

Twelve days later, the 91-year-old died after having an epileptic fit in her room.

Mrs Palmer had several complex health conditions, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, epilepsy, heart problems and vascular dementia, as well as a stoma and catheter.

She had also been left partially paralysed following a collapse at home in September 2019.

Following her mother’s death, Ms Bright began pursuing answers about the care she received, and fears the initial fall wasn’t properly investigated.

Gill Hunt, chief nurse at the Trust, said: “On behalf of the Trust, I would like to say sorry to Ms Bright. It took far too long for the Trust to respond to her concerns back in 2019 and 2020. I also want to say sorry for our failings in the care of her mother.

Darlington Memorial Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“It is not okay for anyone to wait so long when they raise concerns about the care of a loved one. We are working hard to improve our complaints service. This is a big priority for us.

“We want people to hear from us in a timely way and get answers that are clear and meaningful.

“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Ms Bright to still have questions after so many years. We will reach out to her so that we can listen to her experience and do all that we can to help.”