A company which ran a Norfolk care home for older people has been fined £81,000 after pleading guilty to putting its residents at significant risk of avoidable harm.
Diamond Care (UK) Limited, former proprietor of Pine Heath in High Kelling, was handed the fine at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday 30 September). It was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.
This criminal offence was prosecuted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which was awarded its £5,500 costs.
Matthew Jenkins, CQC head of inspection for adult social care, said:
“Care providers have a legal duty to take all reasonable steps to protect people in their care from risks to their health and wellbeing.
“Diamond Care failed its residents in this as it did not adequately maintain Pine Heath’s boilers, despite warnings they were not in good working order. When these boilers inevitably failed, vulnerable people – whose health could be jeopardised by prolonged exposure to cold – faced a significant risk of avoidable harm. “The majority of care providers do an excellent job. However, when a provider puts people in its care at risk, we take action to hold it to account and protect people.
“I hope this prosecution reminds care providers they must always take all reasonable steps to manage risks to people’s safety, including ensuring facilities where care is provided are fit for purpose.”
The poor condition of Pine Heath’s two aging boilers was raised with Diamond Care by environmental health officials in 2015. Despite this, essential maintenance was not undertaken.
A year later, one of the boilers terminally failed – but the home still took no action.
After five more months, in November 2016, the home’s sole remaining boiler broke down. This left its 40 residents without heating or hot water when outside temperatures reached below freezing.
Although portable electric heaters were eventually provided in residents’ rooms, thermometers to ensure adequate temperatures were not issued for over a week. Residents also had to bathe in cold water for several days.
The risk to people’s health was worsened by the overall poor condition of the building. It lacked sufficient insulation and had unfit windows, which maintenance checklists repeatedly flagged as needing repair.
Under the Health and Social Care Act, care providers have a legal responsibility to ensure premises used by people receiving their care are safe for their intended purpose.
As Diamond UK failed to act after it was told Pine Heath’s boilers were likely to fail, it pleaded guilty to putting its residents at significant risk of avoidable harm. This is a criminal offence.
Pine Heath closed in 2017. Care is not currently provided from the site and Diamond Care does not run any other CQC-regulated services.
Following an appeal lodged by the defendant and heard on 10 December 2021, the fine it was required to pay was reduced to £60,000.
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