Bupa fined £150k over pensioner death

Bupa Care Homes has been fined £150,000 after the death of a pensioner at a nursing home. The company which is part of the Bupa group of companies and has more than 300 care homes across the country, received the punishment from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the death of 74-year-old Brigid O’Callaghan.

Birmingham Crown Court yesterday heard how staff at the company’s Amberley Court Nursing Homes, in Edgbaston, Birmingham, did not properly check on Mrs O’Callaghan on the evening of October 27, 2005, leaving her in a wheelchair in her room rather than helping her to bed.

She was discovered dead the next morning, having slipped from the seat of the wheelchair to the floor, with the chair’s lap belt strap around her neck.

The court heard the home had failed to carry out a proper risk assessment and care plan for Mrs O’Callaghan’s stay; did not communicate her needs to staff; failed to ensure she could call for help; and did not monitor whether night time checks were carried out.

HSE inspectors also identified more than ten further potential hazards that put residents at risk, ranging from a cluttered corridor to dirty conditions.

Bupa Care Homes (BNH) Ltd, of Bridge House, Outwood Lane, Horsforth, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The first charge focused on the issues most closely connected to Mrs O’Callaghan’s death and the second on the potential hazards for the other residents.

The company was fined £150,000 in total and ordered to pay £150,000 in costs.

“Working in a care home is a specialised job and it’s vital all employees have the correct training in place, which in this instance, they did not,” said HSE inspector Sarah Palfreyman.