The owner of a former residential care home has been ordered to pay £63,356 and the home’s former registered manager has been ordered to pay £1,135 at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, after they failed to protect a resident from avoidable harm.
Richmond Lodge, which closed in August, was a care home in Kirby-in Ashfield, Nottingham, ran by Blue Sky Care Limited. It provided accommodation and personal care to people with a learning disability.
Blue Sky Care Limited, was fined £50,000 in court today (Monday 11 December). It was also ordered to pay a £181 victim surcharge and £13,175 costs to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which brought this prosecution. Martin Smith, who was the registered manager at the home, was also ordered to pay £350 and £750 costs and a victim surcharge of £35.
Robert Barlow had been a resident at Richmond Lodge since 2011 and lived with Asperger Syndrome and Schizoaffective Disorder. In February 2018, Robert was referred to a speech and language therapy team (SALT) as he was experiencing swallowing difficulties. After an assessment it was decided he required a modified diet in order to reduce his risk of choking.
The SALT team provided information to Richmond Lodge, informing them that Robert should not have any bread, sandwiches, toast, or bread-type products mixed into liquid or soups. All food had to be soft, bite sized and of a consistency where it could easily be broken down with a fork.
The home completed food charts for Robert. These showed that in 2019 and 2020 on numerous occasions Robert was served meals that were not in line with the SALT recommendations.
Then on 28 March 2020, Robert was given pizza, chips and baked beans. He choked and collapsed while eating, then sadly died in hospital on 1 April 2020.
The registered provider and registered manager failed to ensure Robert received safe care and treatment as they failed to make sure appropriate guidance was followed regarding his food intake.
Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:
“Our sympathies are with those affected by the sad passing of Robert Barlow.
“Robert had the right to be kept safe while living in and receiving care from Blue Sky Care Limited, but in this case the provider, and the registered manager Martin Smith, failed in their legal duty to protect him from being exposed to significant harm.
“Blue Sky Care Ltd failed to have adequate oversight of the care being delivered or ensure staff were appropriately trained and given adequate policies and procedures to support people when they were at risk of choking, which sadly resulted in Robert’s death.
“Due to the lack of safe care people were receiving at Richmond Lodge, we used our enforcement powers and cancelled the providers registration, therefore the home is now closed.
“The majority of care providers do an excellent job. However, when a provider puts people in its care at risk of harm, we will take action to hold them to account and to protect people which is what we’ve done in this case.
“I hope the outcome of this prosecution reminds care providers of their duty to assess and manage all risks to ensure people are kept safe.”