Jesse Moores’ care home death sparks new criticism of council contracts

A REVIEW into the death of a man with learning difficulties has brought fresh calls for a full audit of Barnet Council’s contracts.

The authority has been slammed for not having a proper contract with the care company responsible for looking after Jesse Moores, who died aged 26 at the Chines, in Enfield.

The council faced similar criticism for paying £1m to unlicensed security firm MetPro without a formal legal agreement in place.

Labour opposition leader Councillor Alison Moore, said: “This is a terrible human tragedy, and our sympathies go out to the family of Jesse Moores.

“The Serious Case Review echoes similar findings by auditors in other service areas in Barnet council where no contract was in place and there was a lack of proper contract and service monitoring.”

The Friern Barnet resident had a tendency to put objects in his mouth and had choked four times in the weeks leading up to his death, on November 3, 2005.

But the risks to him were downplayed by staff at the home and on the day of his death he was left in the hands of two unqualified staff members, one working with a false name and false certificates.

Jesse stole a ham sandwich from another resident’s lunch, put it in his mouth and choked to death on a chunk of food the size of a golf ball unobserved by care home staff.

The company running the home, Robinia Care, was fined £250,000 in 2009 and has since closed the home but a serious case review has now heaped criticism on the council for not properly monitoring the service.

The review found: “They were supposed to have a detailed contract with Robinia Care specifying the quality of care that they expected and the way they wanted this service to address Jesse’s particular needs and challenging behaviour.

“In fact there was no robust or enforceable contract in place and while this may not have contributed directly to Jesse’s death, it set the tone that led to an unaccountable service, operating in a cavalier way.”

Ex Hendon MP Andrew Dismore is calling for a full external audit of the council’s contracts.

He said: “I’m extremely concerned about this. It confirms the importance of my request to the auditor to hold an inquiry into Barnet’s contracting service.

“It’s extremely shocking but regrettably not surprising.”

The contract issues were identified by Barnet Council shortly after Jesse’s death in 2005 and the adult services department has since improved its contract management.

Councillor Sachin Rajput, Barnet’s cabinet member with responsibility for Adult Social Care said: “It is clear that at the time of Jesse’s death there were clear failings in the centre in which Jesse was living and in how Barnet managed its relationship with that home.

“These were unacceptable and I am pleased that the report concludes that these failings have been addressed.”