Questions have been asked about the decision to allow a health care assistant to work at a care home despite a previous conviction for assaulting a client.

The son of Elsie Godbold – who died three weeks after breaking her leg at the Haydon-Mayer home in Herne Bay – says someone should be held to account for the “serious lack of judgement”.

While a police probe and an inquest found no evidence of foul play in relation to his mother’s injury, Steve Godbold says she should never have been under the care of Saimon Paul.

He spoke to KentOnline after it emerged that Mr Paul had been convicted of an assault on a client at another care home.

“It’s astounding that someone with a conviction like his could have been given a position working in the same environment,” he said.

“These people are supposed to have a duty of care and a responsibility for elderly and vulnerable people.

"It's astounding that someone with a conviction like his could have been given a position working in the same environment" - Steve Godbold

“I’m sure there are others who have family members in care homes and are, as I was, hopelessly naive about the people charged with their care. Somebody needs to answer some questions.”

The inquest at Sandwich Coroner’s Court heard Mrs Godbold was admitted to hospital on April 6, 2014, after Mr Paul found her leg “bulging and swollen” as he dressed her at 6.30am.

Doctors discovered she had fractured her femur and alerted police. An investigation found insufficient evidence to support any prosecution.

Expert witnesses at the inquest said Mrs Godbold, who was bedbound with dementia and osteoporosis, was susceptible to such injuries. Pathologist Dr Nicola Chaston said her bones were so fragile her ribs could have been broken with minimal force from a finger. Her femur could have been fractured with very little trauma.

Assistant East Kent Coroner Christopher Morris accepted the injury was likely suffered in the 12 hours before its discovery, from when she was placed in bed to when she woke in the morning.

He added: “I accept a twisting on the leg may have caused the injury but we are unable to obtain further evidence as to how this injury was caused.”

Dr Charles Owen, for the care home, said he dealt with 20 to 30 cases a year where a femur fracture had been caused by movement in bed.

GP Dr Hugh Mathews said an out-of-hours doctor who saw Elsie expressed concern over how long it had taken for staff to realise she was in pain.

But because she was immobile, experts said her pain might not have been apparent to night staff, including Mr Paul, who has since resigned from the home.

Mr Morris concluded that Mrs Godbold’s death had been caused by pneumonia, listing the femur fracture, congestive cardiac failure and osteoporosis as contributory factors.