A firm running a care home in Kirklees has been hit with a huge fine.
The care provider failed in its duty to provide safe care and treatment and has been fined £190,000 by Bradford Magistrates’ Court.
The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution following the death of a 62-year-old man who broke his neck in a fall from a shower chair at a nursing home in Smithies Moor Lane, Birstall.
The registered provider, St Anne’s Community Services, based in Leeds, pleaded guilty to an offence of failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting in avoidable harm to a service user.
The court was told that Kevin McNally, who had Down’s syndrome, epilepsy, dementia and a severe learning disability, had lived in the nursing home since 2012.
In April 2015 two care workers had gone to Mr McNally’s bedroom to help him take a shower using a shower commode chair. The shower chair fell forwards while he was loosely strapped in. Staff attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead in hospital.
Jenny Ashworth, prosecuting, told the court that the provider had failed to adequately control the risk of serious injury and the accident was avoidable.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said: “This accident was entirely avoidable. The risk of people sustaining serious injuries because safety or posture belts are not used properly has been well known for some time. Yet St Anne’s Community Services failed in its duty to ensure that care and treatment was provided in a safe way, and as a result Kevin McNally died. It is a tragedy which need not have happened.”
