An inquest into the death former Brighton and Hove City Council leader Mary Mears heard that friends had concerns about her treatment in hospital and in a care home.
Mrs Mears suffered a debilitating stroke within hours of having elective heart surgery for an irregular heartbeat at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, in March 2022.
Shortly after that, she contracted coronavirus and was transferred from her specialist ward to an infectious diseases ward, in line with the protocol at the hospital at that time.
The stroke prevented her from becoming mayor of Brighton and Hove – a role that she had been due to take on in May 2022 – and “caused her significant anguish”, coroner Joseph Turner said.
Mrs Mears, a retired market trader, wanted to go home to Woodingdean but instead she spent her final years in a Brighton care home.
Six months after her stroke, in September 2022, she moved into Grove Park, a relatively new nursing home, in The Linkway, in Hollingdean.
From then until her death in July 2024, friends were worried that she was hungry and thirsty at times and not always given food suitable for someone at risk of choking.
They raised a series of safeguarding alerts but Brighton and Hove City Council social worker John Gough told the inquest that they fell below the threshold for a safeguarding review.
But early last year, this changed when a speech and language therapist flagged concerns about her nutrition and swallowing.
And in January last year, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection rated Grove Park inadequate although the report was not published until September – after Mrs Mears had died at the age of 77.
At West Sussex, Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court yesterday (Wednesday 27 August), the inquest was told that Mrs Mears had said that the staff at the home were kind.
She retained full capacity and could express her concerns, the coroner said, adding: “She didn’t like the food on occasion.
“She was doing all right at the care home. She didn’t find it perfect but she was comfortable there and the staff took care of her.”
Even after the CQC found that the care home was inadequate – its report criticised the home’s approach to health, safety and welfare – steps were taken to address the problems.
And the coroner said that, for all the concerns raised about Mrs Mears’s care, only three matters were substantiated – one of those involved pressure sores – and they had not contributed directly to her death.
Mr Turner found that her frailty was the main cause of her death when she died more than two years later, in July last year, and he concluded that it was the result of “medical misadventure”.
This reflected the misfortune that her successful heart surgery was followed by a significant stroke – a known complication in some cases but not one that could have been foreseen.
He did not suggest that she had received anything other than proper care during her time in the Royal Sussex – or at the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath.
And while she lost a lot of weight at Grove Park, the coroner said that her doctor had said that her weight was within the normal range for someone of her age.
Mrs Mears’s son Simon Dawes was at the inquest, in Horsham, with his fiancée Linda O’Mahony.
She read a tribute to Mrs Mears for her long service as a councillor in Brighton and the last Conservative leader of Brighton and Hove City Council – from 2008 to 2011.
In particular, she cared about housing and initiated the building of the first council homes in the city for a generation, the inquest was told.
Mrs Mears rose to become council leader from humble beginnings and was well known as a market trader on the family’s fruit and veg stall in the old Open Market.
In 2011, she was recognised as the Local Government Personality of the Year and won other awards for her achievements as a woman in public life.
The inquest was told that Mrs Mears had worked across party lines to tackle homelessness and in her efforts to build new homes including council housing. She also organised the annual Royal British Legion poppy appeal.
But after her stroke, she suffered depression for the first time in her life as well as chronic pain that deeply affected her quality of life.
Ms O’Mahony said: “Despite being surrounded by kind staff (in the care home), she felt isolated and cut off from the vibrant life that she had once led.
“She is survived by Simon and her two grandsons and her many colleagues who admired her resilience and commitment to public service.”
Whatever anyone’s politics, it cannot be denied Mary Mears truly cared about the city and is a great loss. It is absolutely shocking to read what poor Mary went through. A victim of medical negligence AND a substandard care home? Heads should roll. As for the added cruelty of the new (Labour) Mayor visiting her who was given Mary’s position as Mayor and smiling with flowers next to her, that wasn’t exactly sensitive.
I agree that anyone who spends that long supporting Brighton in the way Mears did deserves respect, and also, regardless of one’s politics, at the end of the day, they are all colleagues. Argue passionately about the methods and the particulars, but never the person.
That said, to correct you, Elaine, the coroner did not find medical neglect. The coroner explicitly said she received proper care. The coroner found only three substantiated issues, and none contributed directly to her death.
And I think your statement about O’Quinn is unfair. If she didn’t go, the statement would have been that she didn’t even bother to visit. Plus, it would have been an arranged visit. Mears was perfectly capable of saying no if she didn’t want the visit.
Worth noting that it was Mayor Dean who sat during the mayoral year that would have gone to Mary, not Mayor O’Quinn (pictured), who wasn’t even elected until a year later.
Possibly advisable to check these things before spouting drivel online.
Elaine you should have stopped at the end of your first sentence because the rest is downright inaccurate.
I hope they get answers. From experience non connected people don’t get the chance of an inquest.