A FORMER school dinner lady died after contracting an infection when she went into hospital for an operation on a tumour.

Gwen Gaughan, 74, contracted a colon infection related to Clostridium difficile (C. diff) after treatment at Burnley General Hospital and Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Yesterday an inquest heard that Mrs Gaughan had been operated on on October 3, 2007, and was discharged from hospital on October 16 the same year.

But after returning to her home in Garden Street, Stacksteads, where she was cared for by one of her sons, John, she was re-admitted to hospital on November 5 suffering from severe diarrhea.

Mr Gaughan said his mum, who suffered from diabetes and problems with her eye-sight, had been an independent woman who had lived on her own for a number of years.

“She was fiercely independent,” he said, “and had lived alone for around 12 years.

“She contributed to the local community by helping her neighbours and going shopping together.

“To get the bus she would regularly walk through the village and was very young for her age.”

Plans were put in place for Mrs Gaughan to be discharged from hospital into residential care during December 2007.

On December 22 she was transferred to the Olive House care home, in Bacup.

But her family said the home, which had minimal night time care, was “inappropriate” for her needs.

Mr Gaughan said: “The Olive House was exceptional but she should never have been there.

“It was unsupervised at night and was entirely inappropriate for the care she needed.”

Kate Clemence, the former manager of the Olive House, agreed that Mrs Gaughan should not have been there and said she regularly needed assistance to use a commode at night.

Just two days after being discharged Mrs Gaughan returned to hospital on Christmas Eve, and died on January 3, 2008.

The inquest is continuing.