A care home manager has been ordered to pay £4090.00, by Exeter Magistrates' Court, after failing to provide safe care and treatment to service users resulting in avoidable harm.
Ms Janice Sowden pled guilty to failing to provide safe care and treatment to three people resulting in avoidable harm to them. This resulted in three offences under Regulation 22 (2)(a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
The court fined Ms Sowden £1900 for this. She was also ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge and £2000 costs.
On 8 June 2022, Janice Sowden arranged an external activity for six people, who lived at Burdon Grange Care Home, all of whom were wheelchair users, on an outing to Roadford Lake Activity Centre. The group hired a wheelchair accessible boat from the activity centre, which it called a wheelyboat for a trip on the lake.
While on the lake, the boat carried three of the six service users. The boat took on water and capsized, resulting in the deaths of two people, Alison Tilsley and Alex Wood, and serious harm to a third, Kate Dart.
The provider, manager and staff failed to assess the risks of the boat trip and did not take reasonable, practical steps to manage the risks for the highly vulnerable people in their care. Staff also failed to plan for what would happen if service users entered the water. One staff member present could not swim.
Stefan Kallee, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the South West, said:
“Our sympathies are with the family and friends of Alison Tilsley, Alex Wood and with Kate Dart who experienced serious harm. People receiving care and treatment have the right to expect that any risks to their safety will be effectively managed. This isn’t what happened when they were in the care of Janice Sowden and Burdon Grange Care Home.
“The majority of adult social care organisations do a great job. However, when people in the care of a service come to harm, we will take action to hold them to account and to protect people in future.
“This fine is not representative of the value of Alison and Alex’s lives or the injuries that Kate suffered, but I hope this prosecution acts as a reminder to all adult social care services and the managers of their duty to assess and manage all risks to ensure people are kept safe.”
CQC does not keep the fines that the defendants are issued with by the court, this money goes directly to HM Treasury.
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