A vulnerable pensioner who died following a fall might have survived had his carers provided “appropriate medical assistance”, a court heard.

Assisted living resident David Hustler, 76, formerly of Shipley, activated an alarm after suffering a fall in his room but despite his pleas for help “no help came”.

A court heard Mr Hustler, who had dementia and Alzheimer’s, was left lying naked on the floor in a “distressed” and “confused” state for 14 hours before he was seen again.

Carers Kaniz Rashid, 51, and Margaret Shires, 63, returned the patient to his bed but made no record of his fall in their official log or any report to senior staff of his condition, a jury heard.

They’re also alleged to have seen paperwork showing Mr Hustler’s morning call had been missed, which would have been a few hours after the fall, and of failing to report it.

The next morning a different carer found Mr Hustler “clearly unwell” and he was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, which he died from days later on October 28, 2015.

Carers Rashid and Shires as well as Jennifer Greene, 63, who took the call on the night of the fall, all appeared at Leeds Crown Court today charged with ‘wilful neglect of an individual by a care worker’.

Prosecutor Katherine Robinson said, according to the opinion of a consultant physician and geriatrician, the care given to Mr Hustler amounted to “gross neglect”.

She said: “Greene, we say, simply failed entirely in her duty to follow up on the alarm activation and establish if Mr Hustler required help.

“If there had been a meaningful response to the alarm activation... the development of pneumonia could have been prevented.”

Miss Robinson told the jury Rashid and Shires visited Mr Hustler at the end of a long shift and both agreed if they were to call an ambulance it would have taken up to four hours to arrive.

She said: “The truth, we say, is they simply did not want to wait. They did not care enough about Mr Hustler’s very obvious needs and wanted to go home.

“They falsified records and failed to tell any other staff what had happened, including that the morning call had been missed as they needed to cover up their deliberate choice not to get assistance for a frail, clearly very distressed and unwell elderly man.

“If appropriate medical assistance had been sought by Rashid and Shires... his chances of survival would have improved.”

The court heard Mr Hustler was a resident at Meadow Green Lodge, an assisted living residence in Heckmondwike when he fell on October 19, 2015, at 6.49am.

He activated his pendant alarm, which are provided to residents in order to summon help, and Miss Robinson says, spoke to Greene, who failed to follow up and see if Mr Hustler was alright.

He should have received a morning call soon after, during which Mr Hustler would have been given breakfast and provided with medication, but the visit never happened, the court heard.

Miss Robinson said it is “not known” who should have carried out the visit because it didn’t appear on the rota of any of the carers on duty.

The court heard Mr Hustler’s movements over the next 14 hours were captured by a hidden camera disguised as an alarm clock, which had been purchased by his partner Gloria Cotter.

Ms Cotter was “concerned” about her partner’s care and thought workers “rushed him, didn’t listen to him and could be abrupt”, Miss Robinson told the jury of 12 men and women.

After suffering the fall the camera captured Mr Hustler “shouting for help” and “becoming increasingly distressed” before Rashid and Shires turn up for his evening visit at 8.37pm.

The pair manually helped him into bed and established his morning visit had been missed by checking the log book, which all carers are duty-bound to fill and sign.

Miss Robinson told the court Shires and Rashid’s own entry incorrectly read: “David undressed, sat on bed naked, put him some undies on and assisted him into bed, nothing required pendant on.”

The prosecutor added: “This entry is a deliberate lie to cover up the fact that they failed to take the appropriate action having found Mr Hustler on the floor.

“Nor do they follow up on the missed call or make any entry in the communications book.”

Throughout the night of the 19th and the morning of the 20th the hidden camera captured Mr Hustler “moaning” and “wailing in distress”, the court heard.

At 7.13am carer Christine Ford attended Mr Hustler to find him still and unresponsive, when she touched his face to see if he was alive he made a moaning sound, it was heard.

Doctors at Dewsbury District Hospital diagnosed the elderly patient with hypothermia and a chest infection.

Miss Robinson told the court over the coming days Mr Hustler became increasingly unresponsive as the infection worsened.

He passed away on October 28 from pneumonia, according to a post mortem.

A report was made to West Yorkshire Police after Ms Cotter read the log left by Shires and Rashid and realised it was different to the camera footage.

In the wake of Mr Hustler’s death a review of his care was conducted by Dr Peter Kroker, a consultant physician and geriatrician.

His review found, “a major practical failure in hand over of patient care, emergency response and escalation of medical emergency”.

It added: “The available evidence raises serious concerns about probity and governance at Meadow Green Lodge.”

Dr Kroker found earlier medical attention “could have prevented the development of severe chest infection” and that Rashid and Shires concluded “both carers acted in a severely negligent way”.

The case continues.