Blackpool care home fined £120,000 after elderly woman dies from pressure sore infections

Mary Fallon was found unresponsive in her bed at Highbury House Care Home in Lytham Road in June 2019.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the home failed to ensure she received proper treatment for pressure ulcers.

DM Care Limited was found guilty of failing to provide safe care at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court.

The firm was fined £120,000 in court yesterday (June 21) and also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge and £18,000 costs to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which brought the prosecution.

The home’s manager, 30-year-old Rebecca Tucker, was found guilty of failing to discharge a duty imposed on her resulting in avoidable harm.

She was ordered to pay £2,000 as well as £5,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170.

Sheila Grant, CQC’s head of adult social care inspection, said: “Our sympathies are with those affected by the sad passing of Mary Fallon.

“Mrs Fallon had the right to be kept safe while living in and receiving care from DM Care Limited, but in this case the provider, and the manager Rebecca Tucker, failed in their legal duty to protect her from being exposed to significant harm.”

Highbury House Care Home, ran by DM Care, was a residential setting providing personal care to people aged 65 and over.

Mary Fallon was admitted to the home – which has since been ordered to close – in May 2017 and had no previous history of pressure sores.

On November 5, 2018, she was treated by district nurses for pressure ulcer wounds on her feet.

A safeguarding alert was raised as a result.

Further district nurse visits continued until Mary was discharged from their care on April 25, 2019.

The watchdog said from April 23, there were a further 44 entries in Mrs Fallon’s care plan showing her pressure sores had returned.

However, it said rather than seeking treatment from the district nursing team, Tucker instead decided to treat the sores herself.

On June 28, Mrs Fallon was found unresponsive in bed and was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

She died on July 14, with the primary cause of death listed as multi-organ failure caused by septicaemia, pressure sores and generalised atherosclerosis.

The CQC said Tucker failed to ensure Mrs Fallon received proper treatment for pressure ulcers and failed to ensure she received adequate preventative care.

It also said the registered provider failed to show governance and oversight and had a preventing pressure sores policy which was outdated and did not refer sufficiently to national guidance.

“The majority of care providers do an excellent job,” Ms Grant added.

“However, when a provider puts people in its care at risk of harm, we will take action to hold them to account and to protect people.

“I hope the outcome of this prosecution reminds care providers of their duty to assess and manage all risks to ensure people are kept safe.”