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A pensioner died after being severely scalded in a hot bath at a Birmingham care home because of neglect, an inquest jury has ruled, writes Maria Ahmed.

George Inwood, 68, suffered a heart attack and burns when water just below boiling point came out of the hot tap on April 1 last year, Birmingham coroner’s court heard.

There was a fault with the water system thermostat causing scalding hot water that had been reported at least five times by nurses but was not fixed, the inquest was told.

Inwood’s medical notes also showed he had problems getting in and out of the bath and should have been with a carer at the time.

After a two-day hearing this week, a jury of eight people unanimously returned a verdict of accidental death with a contributory factor of neglect.

Charity Servol ran the home but leased the building from Birmingham and Solihull mental health trust, which was in charge of maintenance contracted out to facilities company Amey.

The family solicitor said the pensioner’s son Derek Inwood was planning to launch civil proceedings against both Servol and the NHS mental health trust.

Charles Jordan, chief executive of Servol at the time of Inwood’s death, expressed his sincere regret but said the charity had an otherwise excellent 27-year record.

Nette Carde, director of operations for Birmingham and Solihull mental health trust said: “We have worked closely with the companies contracted to maintain the facility in order to survey all our premises and we have introduced a detailed annual programme of service testing.”