A Suffolk care provider has been fined £14,000 after pleading guilty to exposing a former resident of its home to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
The Red House Welfare & Housing Society was sentenced today (Thursday 22 December) at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.
This criminal offence, prosecuted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), stems from the adult social care provider’s failure to manage known risks affecting the care a woman at its Sudbury home received.
This follows a series of incidents where the woman concerned – who experienced mobility issues and suffered from confusion and agitation – had repeated difficulties using a wheelchair.
These included several instances of her foot falling from the wheelchair’s footplate, while being pushed, and becoming caught underneath.
The home and external healthcare professionals identified the reoccurrence of this presented a continued risk when caring for the woman.
Despite this information, the home did not take adequate steps – such as developing and implementing adequate manual handling plans and risk assessments specific to her – to safely manage this known risk.
On 12 March 2019 while being pushed in a wheelchair by a member of the home’s staff to the home’s dining room, the resident’s foot came off the footplate.
The carer noticed resistance and found the woman’s foot caught underneath. They replaced it and continued the journey.
The resident subsequently reported pain before her knee was found to be swollen.
Staff called a GP who referred her to hospital, where a fracture to her thigh bone and damage to her knee joint was diagnosed. This caused her to spend 16 weeks with her leg in a cast and a lengthy stay in hospital, before being discharged to a different service.
Had the Red House Welfare & Housing Society taken reasonable steps to manage this known risk, the incident where she came to harm could have been avoided.
Louise Broddle, CQC head of inspection for adult social care, said:
“People receiving regulated care and treatment have the right to expect known risks to their safety will be appropriately managed, so the Red House Welfare & Housing Society’s failure to ensure it adequately responded to this resident’s needs is unacceptable.
“If it had used the information it had, it could have implemented measures that could have meant this resident may not have sustained an injury. Its failure to respond adequately to known risks associated with her care exposed her to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
“The vast majority of people receive good care from healthcare providers who take all reasonable steps to ensure their safety. However, when a provider puts people in its care at risk of harm, we take action to hold it to account and protect people.
“I hope this prosecution reminds healthcare providers of their legal duty to always take all reasonable steps to ensure people’s safety.”
Regulated health and social care providers have a specific legal duty to ensure people in their care receive safe care and treatment, with risks to their health and wellbeing being appropriately managed.
The Red House Welfare & Housing Society has admitted it had not ensured safe care and treatment due to its lack of adequate risk management for the injured woman. This exposed her to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
This constitutes a breach of regulations 12(1) and (2)(b) and 22(2)(b) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
Regulation 12 relates to healthcare providers’ responsibility to ensure people receive safe care and treatment. Clause 2 (b) makes it a legal requirement for providers to take all reasonable steps to manage risks that undermine people’s safety, to protect people from the risk of avoidable harm.
Regulation 22 made it a criminal offence to not comply with regulation 12.
In addition to the fine, the Red House Welfare & Housing Society was ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge, and £11,000 costs to CQC.
Following this incident, CQC has inspected the Red House Welfare & Housing Society’s home twice.