Worcestershire care home fined after resident falls from window
16:36 - 21/12/2010
Worcestershire care home fined after ...
A residential nursing home in Worcestershire has been fined £16,500 after an elderly woman fell from a first floor window and sadly died.
Vulnerable resident, Thora Monk, aged 92, fell more than 4-metres to the ground from her bedroom window at The Lawns Nursing Home in Kempsey on 5th January 2007.
Police who attended the incident found that the woman’s bedroom window could be opened fully, despite published HSE guidance recommending that windows which, when opened, pose a risk of a person falling, should be restricted to open by no more than 100mm. They also discovered that many other windows at the home could be opened fully and were easily accessible to elderly residents.
Heritage Manor Ltd, which operates The Lawns and also manages other care homes located across the UK, were prosecuted at Worcester Magistrate’s Court. The court heard how the care provider had not taken adequate steps to maintain its method of restricting the opening of windows and had therefore put their vulnerable residents at risk.
Heritage Manor Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and were ordered to pay costs of £25,000 in addition to their fine.
HSE Inspector Claire Coleman said: “The risk of vulnerable people falling from windows is a well-known issue in nursing homes.
“Adequate controls are easy to implement and maintain, and advice is available from HSE. [...] Care providers are urged to revisit their risk assessment to ensure that they have adequate measures in place and that these are being suitably maintained.”
First Response Training works with a number of residential nursing homes across the country, providing them with tailored health and safety training and health and safety consultancy services for care settings. They also offer a wide and diverse range of specialist health and social care training courses for all settings.
Charlotte Potter, Head of Quality and Curriculum at First Response, says: “All upstairs windows in care and nursing homes should be fitted with restrictors to prevent this type of horror from happening. This has been the case for many years, and guidance is readily available.”
Charlotte, who has previously worked as a care home manager, adds: “The best way to ensure that you are meeting all necessary safety standards is to ensure that you keep up to date with current legislation and guidance and have a robust training plan.
"We can provide Health and Safety for Carers training, Risk Assessment for Care, the new FRT Common Induction Programme – which meets all the outcomes of the revised Skills for Care Common Induction Standards – and many, many more training courses specific for the care sector. Making sure that you and your staff are well-informed and well-trained is the first step to providing those who use your service with good quality care and a safe environment.”
Call First Response on 0800 310 2300 to find out more.
Vulnerable resident, Thora Monk, aged 92, fell more than 4-metres to the ground from her bedroom window at The Lawns Nursing Home in Kempsey on 5th January 2007.
Police who attended the incident found that the woman’s bedroom window could be opened fully, despite published HSE guidance recommending that windows which, when opened, pose a risk of a person falling, should be restricted to open by no more than 100mm. They also discovered that many other windows at the home could be opened fully and were easily accessible to elderly residents.
Heritage Manor Ltd, which operates The Lawns and also manages other care homes located across the UK, were prosecuted at Worcester Magistrate’s Court. The court heard how the care provider had not taken adequate steps to maintain its method of restricting the opening of windows and had therefore put their vulnerable residents at risk.
Heritage Manor Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and were ordered to pay costs of £25,000 in addition to their fine.
HSE Inspector Claire Coleman said: “The risk of vulnerable people falling from windows is a well-known issue in nursing homes.
“Adequate controls are easy to implement and maintain, and advice is available from HSE. [...] Care providers are urged to revisit their risk assessment to ensure that they have adequate measures in place and that these are being suitably maintained.”
First Response Training works with a number of residential nursing homes across the country, providing them with tailored health and safety training and health and safety consultancy services for care settings. They also offer a wide and diverse range of specialist health and social care training courses for all settings.
Charlotte Potter, Head of Quality and Curriculum at First Response, says: “All upstairs windows in care and nursing homes should be fitted with restrictors to prevent this type of horror from happening. This has been the case for many years, and guidance is readily available.”
Charlotte, who has previously worked as a care home manager, adds: “The best way to ensure that you are meeting all necessary safety standards is to ensure that you keep up to date with current legislation and guidance and have a robust training plan.
"We can provide Health and Safety for Carers training, Risk Assessment for Care, the new FRT Common Induction Programme – which meets all the outcomes of the revised Skills for Care Common Induction Standards – and many, many more training courses specific for the care sector. Making sure that you and your staff are well-informed and well-trained is the first step to providing those who use your service with good quality care and a safe environment.”
Call First Response on 0800 310 2300 to find out more.
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