A care provider that failed in its duty to provide safe care and treatment has been fined £16,000 by Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates’ Court.
The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution following a serious accident at Bentley Care Home, Liverpool, a service operated by Argyle Care Group in October 2015. A resident at the home, Dorothy Carney, sustained serious injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs.
At the time of the offence the registered provider was the Argyle Care Group. They pleaded guilty on 23 April 2018 to one offence of failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting in avoidable harm to Mrs Carney.
The court was told that Mrs Carney, who was 66 years of age, gained access to an unsecured flight of stairs and fell down 13 steps. She was able to access the area through an unlocked door at the top of the stairs directly opposite her bedroom. Following the accident she was treated in hospital for a head injury, a bite to her tongue, laceration to her right calf and an injury to the left leg.
The incident took place seven days after a CQC inspection of Bentley Care Home. Inspectors had informed the provider at that time that they had found doors leading to the basement area unsecured and warned the provider that this was unsafe for people using the service.
Jessica Franklin, prosecuting on behalf of the CQC, told the court that the Argyle Care Group had failed to take effective and prompt action to secure the doors and ensure that residents were safe.
Mrs Carney was known to be at risk of falls, although her care plans and risk assessments did not identify the risks arising from a recent deterioration in her eyesight. It was only after the serious fall that the provider amended her care plan to accurately reflect her mobility and eyesight.
Miss Franklin said that it was reasonable for the defendant to fit an adequate lock to the door following the inspection; after the incident it took only 15 minutes for the provider to secure the door, without incurring significant expense.
District Judge Shaw fined the Argyle Care Group £16,000 for failing in its duty to provide safe care and treatment. They were ordered to pay £9,500 towards the cost of the prosecution and £120 victim surcharge.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, North, said:
“This accident was entirely avoidable. Bentley Care Home was inspected by the Care Quality Commission a week before this accident when we pointed out the insecure door and advised them to rectify the problem.
“Argyle Care Group failed in their legal duty and as a consequence one of the people in their care was seriously injured. It was an accident which need not and should not have happened.”
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Argyle Care Group failed in their legal duty and as a consequence one of the people in their care was seriously injured.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, North