A former registered manager at Chesham Bois Manor (operated by B&M Investments), a Buckinghamshire care home, has been ordered to pay £1,082 by Brighton Magistrates' Court, following a prosecution brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for two offences of failing to safeguard people living in the home from abuse and improper treatment, resulting in their exposure to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
Aleksandra Krawczynska, the former registered manager of Chesham Bois Manor, pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to safeguard service users from sexual abuse, exposing them to a significant risk of avoidable harm, on or before 29 November 2021. The first offence involved a failure to operate effectively systems and processes to prevent abuse of service users contrary to Regulations 13(2) and 22(2)(b) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014; the second offence involved a failure ensure effective operation of systems and processes to investigate, immediately upon becoming aware of, allegations or evidence of abuse, contrary to Regulations 13(3) and 22(2)(b) of those Regulations.
Aleksandra Anna Krawczynska was fined £984 in court yesterday on 01 October 2024. She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £98.
This case concerns the management of the sexualised behaviour presented by one of the people living at Chesham Bois Manor, towards other people at the home.
Before moving to Chesham Bois Manor this person was receiving treatment at hospital after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, affecting the persons’ memory, cognitive ability and reasoning.
During the period that Aleksandra Krawczynska was the registered manager of Chesham Bois Manor there were multiple recorded incidents of inappropriate sexualised behaviour by this person toward other people living at the home. None of the people involved in these incidents had capacity to consent. The incidents included sexual touching of people living at the service and the person exposing themselves.
An investigation by the CQC found that Ms Krawczynska failed to implement effective systems, policies and processes for timely risk assessment and management to prevent risks posed by this person to prevent abuse of other people living at Chesham Bois Manor. Ms Krawczynska also failed to ensure effective implementation of policies and processes for conducting timely investigations following alleged incidents of inappropriate sexualised behaviour.
The case relates to Regulations 13 and 22 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and the failure to ensure that systems and processes were operated effectively to prevent abuse and protect residents from abuse, exposing residents to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
Amy Jupp, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said:
“The registered manager’s failure to protect vulnerable people in their care from a resident whose risks to other residents ought to have been known to her is shocking. What makes it worse is the risks they were exposed to would have been avoided had Aleksandra Krawczynska done what was required of her under CQC regulations and under the homes’ own safeguarding policy.
“When registered managers don’t perform their duties as they should, we can and will take action to hold them to account and protect people they are responsible for.
“This case should remind care managers they must always take all reasonable steps to manage risks to people’s safety, including ensuring people are safeguarded from abuse and ensuring that systems and processes in place are effectively operated in practice.”