A CARE home has been fined £60,000 over a “horrific accident” which led to the death of an 83-year-old woman.
Margaret Young, who had Alzheimer’s and glaucoma, was discovered at the foot of concrete stairs in the boiler room of Kinning Park Care Home in Glasgow several hours after going missing in September 2015.
She suffered multiple fractures and died in hospital two weeks later after developing pneumonia as a result of her injuries.
Yesterday sheriff Alan MacKenzie fined the facility £60,000 after it admitted a health and safety breach.
The court heard the boiler room door should have been kept locked to prevent residents gaining access, but a fault meant it was not properly secured.
This has since been rectified and the counsel for the care home said it “apologises unreservedly”.
MacKenzie said the door lock failure had resulted in “tragic consequences”. Passing sentence at Glasgow Sheriff Court, he stated: “In an environment where Margaret Young, at her age and with her particular vulnerabilities, ought to have been safe, it is evident that she experienced a horrific accident which ultimately led to her death.
“While anyone familiar with this tragedy cannot but be moved, I have no doubt that her death and the surrounding circumstances are and will remain a source of profound and ongoing sadness for her family.”
The court heard the door should have fallen closed from any open position.
A test was carried out three days earlier but noone spotted a failure to close when slightly ajar.
Staff called the police after failing to find Young during a search of the premises, and she was eventually discovered by the home’s director, who heard a “mumbling sound” from within.
Some of Young’s family are pursuing a civil case against the care home.
In a statement released through law firm Digby Brown, her relatives said: “Families like ours reluctantly put our loved ones into care homes because we genuinely believe it’s the best and safest place for them where they will be cared for in a safe, caring and dignified environment. So for Margaret to die in the way she did makes it all the more agonising.”
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