Hull care home apologises over sex attack on patient

Robert Carpenter was housed at Raleigh Court in Cambridge Street, Hull, on an "emergency placement"

A care home has apologised for failures that allowed a convicted rapist to sexually assault an elderly dementia patient.

Robert Carpenter carried out the attack in June 2018 at the HICA-owned Raleigh Court in Cambridge Street, Hull.

HICA has admitted breaching the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Former manager Katie Daysley is on trial at Beverley Magistrates' Court accused of breaching the same act. She denies the charge.

Carpenter arrived at the home on an "emergency placement" six months' before the assault, the court heard.

'Missed opportunities'

In a statement, HICA Group, Hull, said: "We take responsibility for failing to properly protect a resident from being exposed to risk of harm and we have apologised for this failure.

"The isolated incident, which happened more than four years ago in 2018, arose due to several missed opportunities which began with a failure to notify care home management about the background of an emergency admission.

"Staff were unaware of the risks he posed. Subsequent failures to follow our procedures compounded this risk."

The company added that it had learned lessons from the case.

The elderly victim subsequently died of unrelated causes, her family said.

Jemima Stephenson, prosecuting for the Care Quality Commission, said Carpenter presented a "clear and obvious" risk and suggested Ms Daysley "should have done more" to protect the victim.

Ms Daysley said when Carpenter arrived at the home Hull City Council had informed her only of a previous offence for burglary.

She said she only learned the full extent of his offending on 25 April 2018 when a social worker phoned to tell her that checks had revealed a rape conviction from about 40 years ago.

But Ms Stephenson argued the onus was on Ms Daysley to establish "a full and informative picture" of Carpenter's background.

Calls 'did not happen'

Ms Daysley told the court she had twice sought advice from Heather Joy, then HICA's regional director and safeguarding lead, when Carpenter was admitted on 9 January 2018 and again on being informed of his rape conviction.

Ms Joy claimed these calls did not happen. No written evidence of them was provided to the court.

Andrew McGee, for Ms Daysley, said she had exercised "all due diligence". He pointed out that she could not have been expected to obtain a "breakdown of years-old convictions".

He added Ms Daysley had correctly handed over Carpenter's case to her deputy prior to leaving the home on 27 April 2018 to become manager of another facility.

Carpenter was sentenced at Hull Crown Court in 2019 to seven-and-a-half years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to the offence of "causing a person with a mental disorder impeding choice to engage in a sexual activity". He died in August 2021.

Ms Daysley, 41, of Kirk Ella, denies a charge of failing to discharge a duty resulting in avoidable harm to a service user from abuse and improper treatment.

HICA pleaded guilty on the opening day of the trial to a charge of failing to discharge a duty resulting in a service user being exposed to a significant risk of avoidable harm.

District Judge Dan Curtis is considering his verdict.