West Yorkshire care home fined £100,000 over falls

Bupa pleaded guilty to two charges at Leeds Magistrates' Court

A care home has been fined more than £100,000 after an 81-year-old woman fell over and suffered a broken neck.

West Ridings Care Home in Wakefield, which was owned by Bupa at the time, admitted two counts of failing to provide safe care and treatment.

Leeds Magistrates' Court heard that two residents needed hospital treatment after falls.

Bupa apologised for the incidents and said it had "implemented changes to prevent such issues from reoccurring".

In one case, a woman who was given a sedative fell asleep and fell off a toilet while unsupervised.

According to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which brought the prosecution, the 81-year-old woman complained of severe pain following the fall in July 2015.

She was taken for an X-ray five days later, which revealed she had a broken neck

The CQC said the woman, who died in March 2016, became immobile due to the neck injury and "was unable to return to an independent life".

'Fell short'

In the second case, also in July 2015, a 65-year-old woman had "several falls" while in the home.

After one fall she was taken to hospital with a "deep laceration to her left leg", the CQC said.

Bupa was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay an additional £23,579 towards the cost of the prosecution and a £120 victim surcharge.

Rebecca Pearson, from Bupa, said: "We are extremely sorry for what happened in July 2015, and our thoughts are with the families at this time.

"We always aim to provide the highest possible standards in care but acknowledge that we fell short at this home.

"While we can't change what happened, we immediately implemented changes to prevent such issues from reoccurring."

Bupa said the care home was sold to another company in February 2018.