The former owners of a Buckinghamshire care home have been sentenced for serious safety failings after a frail 76-year-old woman died following a fall from a hoist.
Aylesbury Crown Court was told that Mrs Barbara Kilty, who had been resident at the home for more than three years, slipped from her wheelchair after she was transferred from her bed using a hoist. She broke her hip as a result of the fall but the incident was not reported within the care home.
Ten days after the incident, Mrs Kilty was sent for an X-ray after she continued to show distress on being moved and even though an initial medical examination had found no injury.
Mrs Kilty, a widow and mother of six, was eventually taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital some 17 days later and had an operation to correct her hip fracture. Sadly, she died shortly after the operation.
The court heard how HSE's investigation found that the risk assessment, equipment and procedures for safely moving and handling residents at the care home were not suited to the needs of an immobile and dependant resident such as Mrs Kilty.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Rowlands said:
"If anything positive is to come out of this very sad incident, it is that other employers take note and be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take action against those who fall so far below the required standards.
"Each year, a significant number of incidents are reported involving people being injured while being moved with hoisting equipment."