AN INQUEST has heard how 10 nursing homes in a Hampshire town told how they had faced unfriendly or unprofessional behaviour from paramedics towards their staff.

This was revealed after a woman’s death sparked a major investigation by the authorities into her care.

Beryl Talmash was taken to hospital from a nursing home following a suspected stroke, but her condition, caused by long-standing skin problems, sparked alarm bells for paramedics who alerted the authorities.

This led to a full scale investigation where problems in communication not negligence were found to be the issue.

It also revealed how 10 of Fareham’s 50 homes had taken issue with paramedics’ attitude to staff.

An inquest heard how Ms Talmash, 83, formerly of Frosthole Close, Fareham, had been at Peel House nursing home in Fareham for two years receiving palliative care for breast cancer when her condition deteriorated.

The 83-year-old, formerly of Frosthole Close, Fareham, also suffered from numerous long-standing problems, including incontinence, diabetes and severe skin conditions.

She was admitted to hospital on October 27 last year after staff found her unresponsive with weakness one side and died of pneumonia on November 5.

She died of pneumonia on November 5.

But the inquest heard how ambulance staff found faeces around her catheter and blisters on her skin which they thought could be burn marks and refused to take the home’s transfer paperwork with them.

They raised safeguarding concerns as did Queen Alexandra Hospital so police and Hampshire County Council’s adult services got involved.

However, neither found anything negligent in Ms Talmash’s care and initial concerns could be explained by her past medical history.

The inquest also heard Ms Talmash had become increasingly aggressive to home staff, making it difficult to maintain hygiene.

Janine Harriman, a specialist nurse who reviewed the home, praised its care but pointed to gaps or confusion in its record keeping which “let them down”.

Adult services’ findings highlighted the home’s paperwork not being up to scratch so it was not ready to go, the ambulance service’s refusal to take transfer paperwork on Ms Talmash’s medical care and the hospital not making GP enquiries so it was aware of all Ms Talmash’s skin conditions.

Ms Harriman told how 10 other homes in Fareham had spoken about paramedics not being “welcoming, friendly or professional towards nursing staff”.

The home, in Woodcote Lane, has since made improvements including extra staff training as has South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and the hospital.

Karen Harrold, deputy assistant coroner for Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, recorded a verdict of death from natural causes, saying problems with patient information would not have made a difference.

Following the pathologist’s conclusions, she said problems with patient information clearly would not have made any difference in Beryl’s case.

After the inquest, Ms Talmash’s god-daughter Christine Pink said she was happy with the home’s care.

Mrs Pink’s daughter Maria Passmore, of Park Gate, said better communication between the hospital, ambulance staff and home would have saved them worry, but hopefully changes had been made.

A spokeswoman for SCAS said it was reviewing the circumstances and took the inquest findings very seriously.

She said: “The priority of our staff is always to provide the best care to all our patients and appropriately identify those patients who could be in a vulnerable situation.”