Care provider fined more than £26,000 after resident 'fell from first-floor window' at St Leonards care home
A care home provider has said it has implemented improvements at its care home in St Leonards following an accident involving a resident.
Crest House Care Limited was fined more than £26,000 on Monday (February 16) at Brighton Magistrates' Court after the court heard it failed to provide safe care and treatment to a resident living at Crest House Care Home, in St Matthew's Road, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.
The court heard that a resident fell from a first-floor window after climbing through it.
A CQC spokesperson said: “On July 18, 2022, M.E.D, a resident at Crest House Care Home, fell from the first-floor window of their room, which did not have window restrictors in place. They sustained multiple injuries including fractures to their spine, femur, and foot, as well as a scalp haemorrhage. M.E.D required several surgeries and has ongoing mobility issues because of this fall.
“CQC brought the prosecution case because Crest House Care Limited failed to provide safe care and treatment to M.E.D by not ensuring the windows in their room were restricted to prevent openings beyond 10cm which is a legal requirement. As a result, the home failed to take reasonably practicable steps to mitigate the risk of them falling from a first-floor window.”
The CQC said Crest House Care Limited pleaded guilty to failing to provide safe care and treatment to M.E.D, thereby causing them avoidable harm.
It said this resulted in one offence under Regulation 12(2) and 22(2)(a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The CQC said the court fined Crest House Care Limited £10,000 for this. It was also ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £14,764.47 costs, the CQC added.
Amy Jupp, CQC deputy director of operations in East Sussex said: “When people are living in care homes, they have the right to expect that homes will properly assess and manage risks to keep them safe. Tragically, this did not happen for M.E.D at Crest House Care Home, resulting in life changing injuries including multiple fractures and a scalp haemorrhage.
“The failure of the Crest House, to identify and address clear dangers was unacceptable resulting in serious harm coming to a highly vulnerable person and potentially putting other residents at that same risk.
“Most care homes take their responsibilities seriously and act to protect the people they support. But when an organisation falls short and exposes someone to such serious harm, we will act to hold them accountable.
“This prosecution should remind all providers of adult social care of their duty to protect people by carrying out thorough risk assessments and taking every reasonable step to keep them safe. I would urge all organisations providing similar accommodation to ensure their own window restrictors meet safety standards to avoid this happening to other people.”
A statement from Crest House Care Limited said: “This matter relates to a historic incident which has now been concluded by the court. From the outset, Crest House Care Limited cooperated fully with the Care Quality Commission and accepted responsibility. We are deeply remorseful that the incident occurred.
“Following the incident, we took extensive voluntary action well beyond what was required, including significant capital investment, replacement and upgrading of windows and safety restrictors, strengthened policies and procedures, enhanced auditing and monitoring, and additional staff training.
“Resident safety has always been, and remains, our absolute priority. The court recognised the substantial improvements made and the very low likelihood of harm. We remain fully committed to continuous improvement and to providing safe, high-quality care for our residents.”