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Coroner criticises Sunderland Council call centre after woman bled to death
A pensioner who bled to death at home while waiting for help, died accidentally, an inquest has ruled.
Coroner Derek Winter criticised shortcomings at a council-run call centre after delivering his verdict into the death of 71-year-old Sarah Marshland.
The great-grandmother's body was found in her flat, an hour after she rang Sunderland City Council Careline asking for help.
Mrs Marshland was discovered lying under the emergency cord she used to alert call centre staff to her plight.
Medical experts told the inquest she suffered a ruptured spleen but opinions differed over whether she still would have died if help arrived sooner.
After hearing three days of evidence, Coroner Derek Winter said he did not believe Mrs Marshland would have survived her fall.
However, he criticised the city council after it was revealed the call centre was run manually, with calls recorded on a clipboard after arriving on the call handlers' computer screens.
"I was unimpressed by some of the systems that were in operation at the time of Mrs Marshland's death in February 2008.
"Some were not as robust as they ought to have been and to that end may have exposed service users to risks including death."
He also recommended the city council share the lessons it had learnt with other telecare services.
Yesterday, Sunderland City Council apologised to Mrs Marshland's family and said the council had carried out a "far-reaching, extensive, and thorough investigation" after her death.
This resulted in a complete overhaul of the call centre, which is used by 23,000 people.
Verdict: Accidental death.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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