AN elderly refugee of the post-Second World War era died of a head injury following falls at a care home.

Jan Starczewski, who was born in Poland in 1927, was living at the Penrhos Extra Care Unit, Pwllheli, within what is known locally as the Polish Home when he began to show signs of unsteadiness in February.

The 88-year-old experienced two falls during February and appeared to be uninjured but he developed a subdural hematoma, a bleed between the skull and the brain, and died at Ysbyty Gwynedd on Thursday, 11 February.

An inquest at Caernarfon last Wednesday heard that Mr Starczewski had previously been sound on his feet but experienced falls on successive days.

Home manager Kathryn Elen Adams said staff checked the retired petrochemical engineer for injuries but found him to be unhurt and in no pain.

A GP visited Mr Starczewski on 8 February because he had a high temperature but found he was struggling with an infection and showed no signs of neurological damage.

A day later, the pensioner was found unresponsive in his bed and taken to hospital.

Mrs Adams told the inquest she felt staff at Penrhos did everything they could for Mr Starczewski, saying: “We miss him.”

She added: “I’m quite satisfied that the staff had fulfilled their roles at that time.”

Pathologist Dr Mark Lord told the coroner that Mr Starczewski probably sustained a head injury after one of the falls but that the subdural hematoma would have been undetectable until it was too late.

He said doctors at Ysbyty Gwynedd had considered “surgical intervention” but, given the man’s age and the “very large” hematoma, any operation “would have been futile.”

“There was nothing, really, that you could have done,” he told the care home’s manager.

Coroner Nicola Jones praised staff at Penrhos for their professionalism and compassion.

“I am happy that the care he received at the Polish Home was exemplary and exceptional,” she said, adding: “You clearly have a care unit that cares, not only for the patient, but about him.”

The coroner concluded that Mr Starczewski had died as the result of an accident.