Shrewsbury care home firm fined £100,000 over Joan death

A care home firm has been fined £100,000 for failings which led to the death of a 79-year-old great-grandmother who fell as she walked to the shops to buy bread in Shropshire.

Joan Bloore was taken from Hartlands Rest Home in Whitehall Street, Shrewsbury, to the Spar in nearby Monkmoor Road using a walker, despite being at ‘high risk’ of falls and needing a wheelchair for outings.

The 28-bedroom care home’s owner D Roche Limited was fined £100,000 at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday after admitting two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act at an earlier hearing.

Company director Declan Roche, who also operates another Hartlands Rest Home in Oswestry, admitted that the firm failed to implement safety measures to ensure the safety of Mrs Bloore and failing to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks associated with escorting residents on outings.

Mr Kevin Saunders, prosecuting on behalf of Shropshire Council, said Mrs Bloore’s risk of falling was ‘clearly foreseeable’ according to her care plan drawn up by senior managers in January 2011.

But he said on March 4 last year she was using a walking frame and was escorted by an ‘inexperienced’ 18-year-old carer when she fell and hit her head outside the shop.

Former hospital worker Mrs Bloore was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital but died of a brain haemorrhage and pneumonia four days later.

Mr Saunders said during her 39 days at Hartlands Mrs Bloore had already suffered two falls inside the home.

He said deputy care manager Leanne Underwood had told Naomi Morris, the carer who escorted Mrs Bloore when she fell, that she must ‘go in a wheelchair’ but that the advice was not heeded despite being referred to in the care plan.

He said: “Had Mrs Bloore been in a wheelchair, it would not have happened. The plan was not implemented.

“She (Naomi Morris) stated that she never had time to check the care plans of any of the residents and that she understood company policy to be ‘to try and find time’ to read the care plans. She said that information about individual residents was conveyed verbally between the staff.”

Mr David Elias, for D Roche Ltd, said the company took health and safety ‘very seriously’ and had improved procedures since Mrs Bloore’s death.

He said more than 800 residents had been through its homes without a blemish. He said that Mr Roche wanted to express his sympathy to the family for Mrs Bloore’s ‘tragic death’.

Imposing £50,000 fines for each charge, Judge Robin Onions said the company was ‘asset rich but cash poor’ and also ordered bosses to pay prosecution costs of £5,478.

He said: “Her previous falls should have acted as a warning. The failure was a very serious one in permitting a very junior member of staff to take her out. The company fell way below the standard of care that should have been expected of them.

“Those who handle care of the elderly have a heavy burden. It must act as a warning to other companies in this industry.”

The judge added there was no indication the company had cut costs or corners to boost profits, saying its staff to resident ratio was one of the highest in Shropshire.

He gave the firm 12 months to settle the fine after Mr Elias said ‘there will have to be dramatic movement within the company’ before it can pay.

Outside court, Ian Bloore, one of Mrs Bloore’s children, said: “We’re satisfied because it has to affect their profits and the message has to go out that if companies don’t follow procedures people can die.”

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