Glasgow care home fined £60k after pensioner dies following stair fall

A care home has been fined £60,000 after a pensioner with Alzheimer's died after falling down stairs behind a door that should have been locked.

Margaret Young, 83, was discovered hours after she was reported missing, at the bottom of stairs in KinningPark Care Home on September 28, 2015.

She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital but tragically died on October 12 that from her injuries.

It was later discovered the door that Mrs Young was able to access, had a fault and didn't close properly when left ajar.

The care home on Mair Street, Glasgow pled guilty at the city’s sheriff court to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to make sure a door in the home was kept locked on September 28, 2015.

Sentencing the company sheriff Alan MacKenzie said: "On that date the failure of the closing mechanism had tragic consequences."

He added: "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."

Some of her family have hit out saying the home is not fit and that after choosing it for a safe and dignified environment, makes the way she died "all the more agonising".

At the time there was a small corridor residents could walk along, with a door in it that lead to stairs and a boiler which was always kept locked to prevent residents from getting access.

Procurator fiscal depute Lynne Jamieson said Mrs Young’s family had visited her on the day of the incident ant thoughts he seemed “agitated”.

Around 4pm a member of staff saw Mrs Young, who had been a resident since June 2011, walking up and down the ground floor corridor.

Half an hour later the care assistant went to feed Mrs Young and saw she was no longer in the corridor, or in her room.

Miss Jamieson said “The care assistant alerted other staff and they carried out a search of the home inside and outside.

“One of the members of staff took her care and searched the surrounding area.”

After about an hour the manager was contacted who told staff to report Mrs Young’s disappearance to police and her family.

Police carried out their own search including the area of the boiler room and when an officer pushed against the door it was locked.

Staff told police nobody had been in the boiler room all day and it was kept locked.

Local shops and taxi companies were contacted and shown a photograph of Mrs Young.

At 8.30pm the director decided to check the boiler room. It was opened by a key and a “mumbling sound” could be heard.

Mrs Young was found lying at the bottom of a set of stairs “with a head wound”.

The pensioner was taken to hospital but developed aspirational pneumonia and sadly died on October 12.

Since the incident the small corridor with the door to the boiler room is now out of bounds to residents and a fault in the door was discovered.

The court heard the door should close itself from any open position.

It was tested three days earlier but it wasn’t noticed that when slightly ajar the door did not close automatically.

Miss Jamieson said another lock has also been added to the door since the incident.

Defence counsel Gavin Anderson said the company “apologises unreservedly”.

Mr Anderson said there were forms for reporting maintenance issues but no problems with the door were flagged up.

The door has since been fixed by making sure it now "bangs" closed which was described as a “simple yet effective fix”.

He added" “Had the company known of the flaw prior to the incident, it would unquestionably have implemented this simple fix promptly upon being made aware.”

Some of Mrs Young’s family issued a statement that said: “Margaret was an incredible mother, grandmother and sister.

“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.

“There’s a silver lining that management at Kinning ParkCare Home have admitted their fault rather than drag it out and cause further pain to our family.

“But it shows the home is not fit for purpose and the authorities need to act and make sure that no other family has to go through what we have.”

Lawyer David Wilson, who his helping some of her family pursue a civil action against the care home said it was a “tragic and avoidable incident”