An Angus care home firm has lost a bid to reduce a £100,000 fine imposed when a vulnerable resident died after leaving through an unsecured exit into a freezing garden.
Georgina Norrie was not noticed as she left St David’s Care Home in the early hours of the morning, before she was found lying on her back wearing a nightdress.
The 85-year-old suffered from dementia and learning difficulties and had additional health problems.
St David’s Care Home Ltd, of Glamis Road, was prosecuted for breaching health and safety at work legislation on January 12 2017 and fined at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.
It admitted failing to provide effective arrangements to prevent residents leaving the home unnoticed, without alerting staff to their movements as an alarm at a dining room fire door was deactivated.
Tragedy
Miss Norrie- a resident at the Forfar care home for 11 years – often got up during the night but was in her room when a check was made on her at 2am.
She was not present when a further check was later made on her.
She was discovered lying on her back near the entrance to the door and was carried back to bed but her breathing changed and her eyes glazed over.
After finding a certificate asking that CPR not be performed, staff ceased the procedure.
Paramedics declared Ms Norrie dead when they arrived.
A post-mortem four days later showed she died from hypothermia and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.
Full judgement later
The care home has been run by Ivan and Lisa Cornford since 2006.
Both have a background in nursing and it was highly praised for its Covid pandemic response.
The fine had already been reduced by £50,000 due to an early guilty plea.
Last year, the home scored in Scotland’s top ten in a league table compiled by The Times.
The firm lodged a legal challenge against the sentence imposed upon it but judges at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh rejected it.
Lord Pentland, who heard the appeal with Lady Wise, said they would give a full written decision in the case “in early course”.
The senior judge said they had given careful consideration to everything advanced on behalf of the appellant firm but were not persuaded the fine imposed was “excessive”.
Lord Pentland said the failure to properly assess risk had led directly to the death of a “highly vulnerable person”.
Defence counsel Wendy Culross had argued the sentence imposed on the care firm was more severe than was necessary in the circumstances.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
