Care home company fined £100,000 after council investigation
A care home company was this week fined £100,000 for two health and safety offences relating to the death of an elderly resident.
The company, D Roche Limited, which runs the Hartlands Rest Homes on Whitehall Street, Shrewsbury and Salop Road, Oswestry, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Tuesday 7 August 2012. At an earlier hearing at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court on 8 June 2012, director Declan Roche, on behalf of the company, pleaded guilty to the breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The case was brought by Shropshire Council after the environmental health team investigated the death of Joan Margaret Bloore, who was a resident at the Hartlands Rest Home in Shrewsbury.
On 4 March 2011, Mrs Bloore a 79-year-old who had been a resident at the Shrewsbury home for about two months, was taken by a carer from the Hartlands Rest Home to a shop on Monkmoor Road.
Mrs Bloore walked there with the help of the carer and with the use of a wheeled walking frame. On the journey Mrs Bloore suffered head injuries in a fall and was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. She died four days later from complications arising from her injuries.
The council’s investigation revealed that Mrs Bloore had a history of falls and health problems that required her to be in a wheelchair when she was taken outside the home.
In sentencing, Judge Robin Onions imposed fines of £50,000 for each offence and also awarded the council payment of its costs. The level of fine reflected the seriousness of the case and, the degree of the failures by the care home in not having robust systems to properly instruct, train and supervise staff.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for health and safety, said:
“This fatal accident should never have happened. This is a tragic case of the death of an elderly lady which was entirely preventable.
“We have a duty to protect our most vulnerable residents; where we find that anyone is failing in their standards of care, we will take action and where necessary we will prosecute.
“This case shows that there can be tragic consequences if employers do not meet health and safety standards, carry out the necessary precautions and communicate effectively with their employees. Health and safety should be a priority; it must be integral to day to day work practices, not seen as an ‘add on’, and is foremost in businesses which care for vulnerable people.”
Sentencing took place at Shrewsbury Crown Court after magistrates decided the maximum £40,000 fine they could impose for the offences would not be sufficient.
