11.04.17
York care home provider fined £160,000 for failures
The owner of a York care home whose poor care was to blame for the death of a 98-year-old man has been successfully prosecuted by the CQC and ordered to pay over £160,000 in fines and costs.
The CQC brought the case against the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, owner of Lamel Beeches care home in York, for two offences where one resident suffered avoidable harm, and a second offence that resulted in residents being put at significant risk by the service.
In August 2015, a resident, 98-year-old Alfred Colley fractured his hip in a fall at the home, but was discharged back to Lamel Beeches after treatment in hospital. Less than four weeks later he fell out of bed and re-fractured his hip. He died in hospital.
Kevin Donnelly, prosecuting, said that this second fall was avoidable if Lamel Beeches had followed correct procedures around bed rail safety.
Despite the home’s ‘Good’ rating from the CQC, a safety consultant had previously warned that 14 beds needed rail extensions to stop the occupant from falling out, but the care provider had failed to complete the vital improvement.
After the incident, the CQC inspected Lamel Beeches and found concern with all 10 of the people they checked on, suggesting that not enough had been done to keep people safe in the home.
The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, who are responsible for the home, pleaded guilty to both offences at Leeds Magistrates’ Court and were fined £100,000 for failing to provide safe care for Mr Colley, and an additional £50,000 for failing to provide safe care for other residents. On top of that the Trust was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £13,000 and a £170 surcharge.
Debbie Westhead, CQC’s deputy chief inspector for adult social care, said: “It is clear that the provider in this case had failed to keep safe the frail people in its care.
“They had not ensured that the bed rails were being safely used. Risk assessments were not suitable, staff had not been trained and they had not taken action to deal with the risks which had been identified.”
Mr Colley’s death was wholly avoidable, Westhead said, as she criticised the Trust for failing to not do enough in keeping their resident safe.
“Taken together, the provider's poor governance and leadership at the home led to unsafe care and treatment on the part of its employees and it is for this reason that we have taken action in this case,” she concluded. “If we find that a care provider has put people in its care at risk of harm, we will always consider using those powers to the full to prosecute those who are responsible."
Mr Colley’s son, Michael, said that though his father was increasingly frail, he was still active enough to be able to maintain his interest in rugby, golf and cricket as a spectator.
“Any bereavement is distressing, but these circumstances have made my father’s death particularly so. At the age of 98, death is not an improbable event,” he said. “However, my father underwent unnecessary pain and distress. He deserved a better death.”
Shaun Rafferty, strategic director of communities at the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, said the Trust fully accepted the court's judgement and deeply regret missing the opportunities to prevent Mr Colley's death.
"We wrote to Mr Colley’s family immediately after the incident occurred and apologised fully," he said. "We are deeply sorry to Mr Colley’s family and offer our sincerest condolences to them.
“We have co-operated fully with the CQC’s investigation and worked closely with them to quickly make the necessary improvements. We fully recognise there have been issues in parts of our services. This is not acceptable and we are working hard to rectify them.
“We have a new leadership team in place and we are delivering an improvement plan so that residents experience the best possible service," he added. "Eight out of nine of our care settings have a ‘Good’ rating from the CQC, including Lamel Beeches, and we will continue to build on this progress.
“We want to reassure our residents and our families in all our care homes that they are safe and will continue to receive high quality care.”
Today’s prosecution will be the fifth time the regulator has exercised its power of enforcement since it was granted the right in April 2015.
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