Carer gets £ 200,000 fine over resident’s fall ordeal

A CARE provider has been fined £ 200,000 after an elderly resident was left on the floor with a broken hip for up to two hours in the middle of the night.

Elli Figgins was found on her bedroom floor at 4.10am after a resident alerted staff to her cries for help, the Care Quality Commission said.

The 89- year- old had gone into Curzon House care home in Saltney, near Chester, earlier that day for respite care.

She was taken to hospital with a broken hip and had surgery but died a week later in a hospice.

Her death certificate cited the injuries she suffered as a contributing factor, the commission stated.

It said the company that runs the home, Vivo Care Choices, admitted failing to provide safe care and treatment, exposing Mrs Figgins to “significant risk of avoidable harm”.

The firm was fined £ 200,000 at Chester Magistrates’ Court yesterday and ordered to pay a £ 170 victim surcharge and £ 19,305 costs, the regulator added.

Mrs Figgins had vascular dementia, osteoporosis, poor vision, hearing loss and a condition affecting her balance. She left her bed up to eight times a night to use the toilet.

Her main carer, her daughter, gave care- home staff her documented medical conditions and information when she was admitted on June 2 2017.

But the commission said no assessment of her needs was undertaken and staff did not put in place a plan to monitor her.

There was no use of motion sensors to monitor her while she was alone, or safety mats to cushion a fall, and she was unable to use her call bell.

The commission said she was checked by staff just after 10pm and again just after 2am. It is not known how long she had been on the floor when she was discovered at 4.10am.

The commission said it hoped the case would remind providers that they must always ensure people’s safety.