Operators of care homes have strict duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act and are also audited by the CQC (Care Quality Commission). We have services which give access to a competent person for safety and provide unlimited support for safety documents including risk assessments, fire risk assessments, manual handling assessments and similar.
Care home fined £110,000 by HSE for health and safety failings A care home has been fined over £100,000 for failing to provide a safe environment for one of its residents who died of his injuries after falling down a flight of stairs.Your Health Limited, who owned Redmount Nursing Home in Buckfastleight, Devon were found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and fined £110,000 with costs of £26,226 following the tragic accident in November, 2010.They were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a 75-year-old blind resident fell down a flight of stairs in his wheelchair. He had gaining access to the staircase via a fire door that had been left open, suffering serious head and facial injuries, and died the following day.HSE Inspectors investigated the incident and found that care home staff had failed to take his increasingly poor vision into account, which had caused periods of disorientation, when carrying out risk assessments on him.“They failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment for him, neglected to make provision for his deteriorating eyesight, which had been identified in his care plan notes, and did not act on his apparent disorientation,” said HSE Inspector Georgina Speake. “The fire door to the stairwell was regularly left open, which should not have happened at all, and the obvious risk this posed should have been identified.”
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