TWO SOUTHAMPTON women are demanding action following the death of their blind father, whose body was found beneath his fourth-floor balcony at a city care home.
Mark Williams was found dead below his apartment at the Potters Court assisted-living complex in Wimpson Lane, Southampton.
His daughters, Lucy and Jessy, say he fell on the night of November 8 while trying to put himself to bed.
They added that the 60-year-old’s body lay there overnight and was only found by another resident the next day.
Having raised multiple concerns about a “lack of care” in the run-up to his death, the family want answers from Southampton City Council - which owns and manages the 83 flat site - and care provider, Apex Prime Care.
Despite being blind, his daughters want to know why he was put in a fourth-floor flat.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, they complained that Mark’s balcony tiles were wobbly, his window catches broken, and an emergency key fob was also broken.
Mark was diagnosed with lymphoma in September, and on one occasion, Lucy, 34, says she found him drinking from a bottle of Oramorph - an opiate used to treat severe pain - that should have been under ‘lock and key’.
During a separate visit, Jessy, 31, says she discovered one of her dad’s carers asleep in a washing room.
Furthermore, on the day Mark was found dead, they say no Apex Care managers were on the scene.
Lucy told how her dad, who moved to Potters Court in June, would often get disorientated and lost.
Unable to find his toilet he would sit in wet clothes, and that he would ‘go all day with no food’.
Lucy said: “We started to stay and come up because he wasn’t being looked after properly.
“So, whenever we could we were coming up to look after him, feeding him.
“We’ve all got kids and are working, obviously, so we’re coming up as much as possible.
“The carer didn’t change him into his bedclothes, didn’t shower him, didn’t clean up his flat.”
Lucy said she feels “traumatised, disgusted and angry” in light of what happened.
The family has lodged a formal complaint with Apex and want someone to be held accountable, and for a similar incident to never happen again.
An inquest was opened into Mark’s death at Winchester Coroner’s Court last month.
After a postmortem, pathologist, Dr Vipul Foria gave the preliminary cause of his death as fall from height, mediastinal haemorrhage, aortic transection, and lymphoma.
A full inquest is due to take place in the summer of 2022.
When approached for a response to the claims, Southampton City Council were unable to meet the Echo’s publication deadline.
However, commenting previously, council health boss, Ivan White, said: “We are shocked and saddened by this tragic incident and my thoughts are with the resident’s friends and family at this time. We are providing on-site support and reassurance to staff and the wider Potters Court community whilst investigations are carried out.”
The Daily Echo received no response from Apex Care.
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