Housebound woman, 43, starved to death after care worker ‘went to visit her own mother instead’ 

A helpless housebound woman starved to death in her own home after a care worker allegedly failed to check on her.

Home care assistant Tracy Burrows had decided to ‘cut corners’ and rather than going into Julie Cleworth’s bungalow she sat outside in her car for 20 seconds, told her trainee companion she was out and went to visit her own mum instead.

Burrows then allegedly lied to her boss saying that she had looked through the 43-year-old victim’s home in St Helens, Merseyside and found no one there. 

Consequently, because of earlier circumstances, it was assumed by her boss that she was back in hospital and the care package was cancelled.

‘As a result home carers stopped visiting the property completely despite the fact that Julie was in effect trapped inside completely immobile.’

Burrow’s ‘lie’ was eventually discovered when the hospital called the care providers, Unite Healthcare, asking how Miss Cleworth was getting to hospital for a check-up.

The care firm then learnt that she had been discharged from hospital as originally planned four days earlier and the duty manager went straight round to her home but ‘she arrived too late.

‘Julie was found dead in her bedroom. During the three and a half days that Julie Cleworth had been left in her home, she had had no access to food, water or medication,’ said Deborah Gould, prosecuting.

A post mortem discovered that the victim had developed ketoacidosis in which toxins build up in the blood stream as a result of starvation.

Miss Gould told a Liverpool Crown Court today that the Crown alleged ‘the clear cause of her death was neglect and lack of care..the defendant had a duty of care to Julie Cleworth.

‘Had she taken the trouble to walk the few metres from her car to the front door of Julie’s bungalow and opened the door, the defendant would have known that Julie was at home and she would have received the care which she relied upon to survive. It was, the Crown says, a breach of duty which was so negligent as to be criminal.’

56-year-old Burrows, of Sherdley Park Drive, St Helens, Merseyside is on trial denying manslaughter and an alternative charge of wilful neglect.

Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts in Liverpool UK (stock)

Miss Gould said that the victim lived alone in the small bungalow and was disabled after several strokes in 2013 and being 5ft 1 ins tall and weighing more than 18 stone was grossly obese.

She was estranged from her family and had no friends.

She could not stand without the assistance of two carers and could not walk, she had learning difficulties and mental health issues. Although she had an electric bed she did not use it and chose to spend all her time on her couch in the lounge.

Carers would call five times a day for periods ranging from 15 minutes to an hour and Burrows knew that if something was not within reach of Julie’s fingers, ‘it may as well have been 1,000 miles away.’

‘She was, you may think, as helpless as a baby and utterly dependent on others to care for her and meet her day to day needs,’ she suggested to the jury.

Burrows must have known that if left alone without care there was a serious and obvious risk that she would die, added Miss Gould.

On February 5, 2017 Julie was admitted to Whiston Hospital with a swollen left leg and it was established it was a mild infection which could be treated with antibiotics and she was sent home on the afternoon of February 9.

The hospital advised Unite who instructed Burrows and a probationary care assistant to visit her at 7 pm to resume delivery of the pre-existing care package.

But when they arrived shortly before 7 pm the defendant, who had cared for Julie for years, told her companion that Julie was not at home and did not even leave her car and spent the 30 minute care visit time at her nearby mum’s home, claimed Miss Gould.

She had already told the other carer that she intended making two scheduled visits to Julie’s home that evening as a single visit at 7pm. ‘For whatever reason she was not prioritising service users and instead was cutting corners.’

When she rang her boss to say she was not at home it was assumed she had been returned to hospital because of problems with her electric bed, which had been mentioned earlier when ambulance staff had taken her home.

Those problems had however been resolved and Julie left by them in the bed in the rear bedroom with the lights left on, which would have been visible through the front window of the property. They left a note for the carers. 

Miss Gould claimed that Burrows had not gone into the victim’s home that night ‘because she couldn’t care less whether that action was required of her or not.’

At her companion’s suggestion they returned to the bungalow at 7 pm in case they had arrived before the ambulance but again Burrows just looked at it for a few seconds from her car and then drove off.

When interviewed by police Burrows insisted she had gone into Julie’s home that night although she admitted she lied to Unite when she told them she had checked every room. She claimed she did not check the bedroom as Julie never used it and denied seeing a light from the room.

Miss Gould said that the pathologist said that the cause of death was a combination of ketoacidosis, cellulitis, severe cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity. However another expert doctor said he believed she died as a ‘direct result of withholding fluids, food and medication and therefore her death was caused directly and solely by lack of care provision.’

‘He will tell you had she not been left without food and water as a result of the care package being cancelled following the defendant advising Unite that she was not at her home, she would not have died.’

The case continues.