85-year-old Joan James died from bronchial pneumonia in January last year, and was discovered by her sons Martyn and Brian, along with three of her grandchildren.
An inquest heard that hospital staff were unaware of Joan’s death until her family notified them, and Martyn has expressed their anger over the fact his mother was left to die alone.
He told a UK newspaper: “What angers us the most is that we were downstairs having a coffee while our mother was dying. We were not there when she needed us the most.
“I approached her bed and noticed she was slightly propped up. I said ‘mum’ four of five times but she didn’t move. We approached the bed and she wasn’t moving. I touched her forehead and it was slightly cold. I knew she had passed away.”
Martyn made the grim discovery along with Brian, his sons Jack, 23, Samuel, 20 and his 18-year-old daughter Chloe.
He added: “We all became extremely upset, my brother let out a loud scream. We were all completely devastated. My daughter was extremely upset – she was very close to her nan.
“You never expect to find your mother dead in hospital. You expect to be taken aside and told they have passed away.”
After being taken to Heartlands hospital in Birmingham hospital on New Year’s Eve 2012 with a fractured hip and shoulder, she was moved to a care center. On the same day she was taken back to hospital with low oxygen levels. Martyn insists his mother should not have been moved.
He said: “We were sat in the same building, five minutes away from Mum, and we never got the chance to say goodbye.”
A hospital spokesperson said: “A full investigation has been carried out and shared in full with the family. For legal reasons, we are unable to comment further at this stage.”