Health bosses have apologised to the family of a woman who died after a fall in the garden of a hospital.

Aileen Andrews, 81, should have been under constant supervision at Callington Road Hospital in Brislington, where she was being treated for acute psychotic depression.

But she got out through an unlocked dining room door during a staff changeover and was found lying face down in a pool of blood.

She suffered bleeding in the brain and died two days later. An inquest jury yesterday returned a verdict of accidental death but said there were significant shortcomings in respect of continuous observation of Mrs Andrews and effective hand-over between the staff observing her.

Her family said the death of Mrs Andrews, of Gordon Road, Whitehall, was caused by a catalogue of errors.

Son Stephen Andrews said in a statement: "The errors made at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust's Callington Road Hospital have meant our family has lost a grandmother, mother and wife."

The trust said it fully accepted the jury's findings and reiterated its apologies and condolences.

It said the supervision failure was "a one-off human error". "The staff and the trust as a whole have learned lessons from this investigation and we are determined to use the findings to further improve our services."

The inquest heard that it was likely that Mrs Andrews had either tripped or fallen after a dizzy spell.