A GREAT-grandmother who was sent home from hospital after suffering a cut head, died as the result of an accident, a coroner has ruled.

But Hannah Dunbar's family are now demanding Royal Bolton Hospital explains why staff forgot she was taking a blood-thinning drug, which they suspect contributed to her death.

The inquest heard that Mrs Dunbar, 93, died at home in Castleton Court, Tyldesley, in January, from internal bleeding between her brain and skull, after falling and hitting her head at home the previous day.

Her daughter, Lily Bardsley, whom she lived with, told the inquest she took her mother to the RBH, where she was treated and released and told to come back the next day.

She said she told staff that her mother was on the drug Warfarin, but added: "When my sister and I bought her back the next day, the sister asked us why we hadn't told the hospital she was taking the drug.

"I said I had done but I wasn't going to argue as I just wanted my mother to get treatment."

Mrs Bardsley said the hospital then released her mum and once home, she fell asleep in her chair and never regained consciousness.

Pathologist Dr Stephen Wells told the inquest Warfarin would have made it difficult for Mrs Dunbar's blood to clot in the normal way.

He said hospital staff may have been able to stop the clotting by giving Mrs Dunbar vitamin K, if they had known that she was taking the drug.

Bolton coroner Aidan Cotter said he was satisfied Mrs Dunbar died as a result of an accident.

But he added he would be seeking an explanation from the RBH why its locum consultant, Mr Mutta, had not attended the inquest to give evidence.

He also advised Mrs Dunbar's family to write to the RBH to ask if it would have acted differently if its staff had known she was on warfarin.

After the inquest, Mrs Bardsley said: "We are a bit upset that the hospital sent our mother home. We can't understand why they didn't keep her in.

"But she was very old and she might have died as a result of the fall on its own.

"We don't know but we intend to find out."