Council fined after death of care home resident

Allan MacLeod went missing from St Brendan's Care Home in March last year

A council has been fined £80,000 after the death of a patient who went missing from one of its care homes in the Western Isles.

Allan MacLeod, who was 69 and had dementia, left St Brendan's Care Home in Barra by the only door in the building that was not fitted with an alarm.

He was missing for about four hours before a coastguard helicopter found him in the early hours of 9 March last year on the patio of a house near the home. He died in hospital a short time later.

Local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, said it wished to express its condolences to Mr MacLeod's family.

The council was fined at Lochmaddy Sheriff Court in North Uist on Wednesday.

The court heard that Mr MacLeod had been placed in the council-operated care home in October 2023 so he could be closer to one of his relatives.

Staff observed his behaviour during his first month in the home to help them better understand the care he needed.

On 8 March 2024, he was settled into his bed at about 21:00 and hourly checks were made of his room.

It was found empty at 02:00 on 9 March, and searches were made of the home.

The court heard that to avoid being detected by staff, Mr MacLeod had left the building using an exit about 10m (33ft) from his room and not fitted with an alarm.

Electronic tag

Workers at the home alerted Police Scotland and a search involving coastguard, RNLI and fire service personnel was launched of the surrounding area.

A coastguard helicopter fitted with heat detection equipment found Mr MacLeod at about 06:00.

He had facial injuries consistent with falling to the ground. Despite the efforts of medical staff he died an hour later.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that he had made several previous attempts to leave the home.

Carers had tried fitting an electronic tag to Mr MacLeod's clothing to track his movements but he would manage to find the device and remove it.

HSE said after Mr MacLeod's death St Brendan's Care Home introduced a regime of half hourly checks on residents.

It also said arrangements had been made to install keypad entry systems on all doors but this work had not been completed before Mr MacLeod went missing.

Following sentencing, HSE inspector Ashley Fallis said: "This was a tragic and preventable death.

"The council should have made sure the home had stronger measures in place with Mr MacLeod's risks already known and assessed.

"Although changes have since been made, they came too late to prevent his death."

Door security

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said it accepted that health and safety shortcomings contributed to the incident.

A spokesperson said: "Comhairle nan Eilean Siar once again extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the late Mr Allan Macleod for the circumstances surrounding his tragic passing on 9 March 2024.

"The comhairle hopes that the conclusion of this case will offer the family some closure."

The local authority said the door security system in use at St Brendan's Care Home was a key factor in this case.

A new security system had been purchased, but at the time of the incident the work to install it had not been completed.

The spokesperson said: "Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is committed to the delivery of high standards of care to all residents in our residential homes.

"In this instance these standards were not fully met."

They said the comhairle had implemented health and safety improvements and would continue to work with the Care Inspectorate to ensure its residential homes operated to the highest possible standards.