A resident at Kinning Park Care Home went missing on 28 September 2015, Glasgow Sheriff Court was told. After an extensive search of the premises, staff located the resistant at the bottom of a set of stairs in the home’s boiler room. The resident had sustained a head injury in the fall and died on 12 October 2015 as a result of the injuries.
The HSE’s investigation found that the boiler room door had a lock, allowing staff to access with a key, but that there was intermittent fault with closure mechanism, meaning it did not always close automatically.
Kinning Park Care Home (Scotland) Limited of Main Street, Kinning Park, Glasgow pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 which requires employers to ensure that work equipment is constructed or adapted to be suitable for the purpose for which it is provided. The Care Home has been fined £60,000.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Eve Macready-Jones said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
A video round-up of the top fines in January 2019:
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