Former manager of Ansdell nursing home fined £40k following death of two residents

Caroline Taylforth, 62, was the owner and registered manager of Rossendale Nursing Home in Woodlands Road, Ansdell at the time of the incidents in 2019 and 2020.

What happened?

Patricia Sutton had a significant medical history and was admitted to the home on October 11, 2018.

On November 6, 2019, Patricia was eating dinner in the dining room and started choking.

She was taken to hospital and sadly died later that day.

An investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Patricia had been involved in three other choking incidents prior to the incident leading to her death.

The CQC said should have been referred to a speech and language therapist after the second incident in order to properly assess the risks.

However, Caroline did not safely assess, monitor or manage the risk or make this referral.

A referral was also made to a dietician, who requested further information within two weeks of a letter dated July 31, 2019.

There was no evidence that Caroline provided this information, and the referral was subsequently closed.

Dereck John Chapman, known as John, was admitted to the home on October 22, 2019

He had a number of health issues and was also prone to having falls, according to the CQC.

On January 13, 2020, John had a fall in the dining room at the home.

At 3am the next morning, a motion sensor showed that John had left his bed and he was found on the floor.

He was taken to hospital later that morning and was diagnosed as having a broken hip.

His condition deteriorated and he sadly died on February 3, 2020.

The CQC found the fall and subsequent injury contributed to his death.

They also noted John had suffered at least 14 falls after being admitted to the home.

The CQC said Caroline failed to mitigate the risk of falls and failed to ensure John was promptly referred to appropriate services.

Caroline, as the registered manager of the home, was required to maintain oversight of people’s care, and ensure people’s care records were accurate and up to date, as well as any appropriate referrals made to ensure people were receiving safe care and treatment.

In these cases, this did not happen.

What offences did Caroline plead guilty to?

Caroline Taylforth pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to provide safe care and treatment to two residents following a sentencing hearing at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, April 5.

She was subsequently fined £40,000.

Caroline was also ordered to pay a £181 victim surcharge and £15,000 costs to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

What did the CQC say?

Alison Chilton, CQC deputy director of operations for the north, said: “Patricia and John were seriously let down by the care they received from Caroline Taylforth at Rossendale Nursing Home, which sadly led to their deaths.

“Caroline failed in her duty as registered manager to protect Patricia and John from an avoidable risk of harm in a place they should have been safe and receiving the best possible care to meet their individual needs.

“This fine is not representative of the value of their lives, but this, and the prosecution reminds all care providers they must always ensure people’s safety and manage risks to their wellbeing.

“The majority of care providers do an excellent job but when they don’t, we can and will take action to hold them to account and protect people.”