A coroner has criticised the care given at a Bradford nursing home to a 75-year-old man with Parkinson's disease who later died in hospital.

Jack Samuel Portz was admitted last January to Well Springs Nursing Home in Heaton, Bradford, for a short stay so his wife could have an operation. But while he was there, he developed pressure sores on his buttocks and feet and died from broncho-pneumonia three months later.

Bradford Coroner's Court heard how Mr Portz, who was vulnerable to pressure sores because of his illness and age, was not supplied with a special mattress which would have given him relief even though it was available.

Recording a verdict of natural causes with neglect as a contributory factor, assistant deputy coroner James Turnbull said he believed more action could have been taken to prevent Mr Portz's condition from getting worse.

He said: "My assessment of the evidence I have heard from the nurses and from the experts is that the pressure sores noted on Mr Portz's admission might well have deteriorated somewhat. But I feel that if there had been more positive action, perhaps the deterioration to the state achieved may have been a good deal less.''

The inquest heard how Mr Portz, of Brantwood Crescent, Heaton, Bradford, did not have any pressure sores before his admission to the nursing home. But his wife suspected there was something wrong when she visited him three days later.

Winifred Portz said: "He was just sat there with nothing on. He was sat in a chair with just a sheet around him.''

She said that when she asked staff why he was not dressed, they told her they had to change him every two hours.

Mrs Portz, who said her husband had a "terrific sense of humour'', did not speak to her and seemed to look like a zombie. She was concerned about his care and asked two district nurses to examine him.

"They could not believe what they saw. They were appalled,'' Mrs Portz said.

Nursing sister Jean Denman said she was aware his bottom was a little sore two days after his admission. She said she was convinced appropriate care was given to him but she could not explain why his condition deteriorated substantially.

She said he had been turned from side to side regularly to take the pressure off the sore on his bottom.

Clinical nurse specialist Kathryn Vowden said Mr Portz was an "extremely high risk'' to developing pressure sores. She added that a mattress which relieves pressure would have been advisable for Mr Portz.

"It would seem not only sensible but advisable and certainly necessary that amount of risk prevention should have been carried out throughout his short time in the nursing home.''

She said that turning him from side to side was one way to relieve pressure but she believed more action should have been taken to prevent further deterioration.