Halesowen care home manager ordered to pay more than £7k for failing to protect resident from harm
A care home manager in Halesowen has been ordered to pay £7,690 after it was found she failed to protect a resident from harm.
Maxine Barcas, the registered manager of Woodview House Nursing Home in Halesowen, has been ordered to pay £7,690 at Dudley Magistrates Court following a prosecution brought by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC).
Barcas pleaded guilty to a single charge of failing to provide safe care and treatment to Barry Anslow, a resident at Woodview Housing Nursing Home, on Waugh Drive, which resulted in 'avoidable harm'.
It comes after Mr Anslow was admitted to Woodview Nursing Home on January 10, 2020.
He had been given a specific care plan in place to manage his epilepsy and was prescribed medication.
Mr Anslow lacked the capacity to manage his care due to dementia and other related health conditions, with the registered nurse needed to administer the medication prescribed.
Mr Anslow had been prescribed 2.5ml of levetiracetam twice a day, with records showing that staff last provided a dose on the evening of June 5, 2022.
However, it was shown that he had missed seven doses between June 6 and June 9.
On June 9, Mr Anslow had three seizures throughout the day and was then admitted to the hospital.
Sadly, he later passed away on June 18, with his epilepsy being listed as one of the causes of death on his death certificate.
Mr Anslow's epilepsy care plan didn't highlight the importance of maintaining regular doses of medication or how to escalate to source more if the stock ran out.
As a part of the investigation, a consultation neurologist provided a report which noted that missing anti-epileptic medications is 'serious' and that it was very likely that the missed doses were the cause of poor seizure control on June 9.
A CQC investigation found that Barcas, the registered manager, failed to ensure that Mr Anslow received the required dose of his medication and failed to ensure that there were sufficient stock levels.
Barcas also failed to take appropriate steps to make sure that all nursing staff at the home were competent in managing medication and had received appropriate training and guidance on epilepsy.
Dudley magistrates fined Barcas £2,000 and also ordered her to pay £5,000 to the CQC towards the prosecution costs.
Barcas was also ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge.
Andy Brand, CQC Deputy Director of Operations in the Black Country, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Barry Anslow’s family and those closely affected by his death. People should have been able to expect to receive safe care and treatment in Woodview House Nursing Home, the place they called home, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for Mr Anslow.
"The registered manager failed in their legal duty to ensure Mr Anslow received his medication. This fine isn’t representative of the value of his life, but this prosecution should remind all care providers of their duty to deliver care safely and see what they can learn to improve their own practices.
"Where we find providers and managers are putting people at risk of harm, we won’t hesitate to use our regulatory enforcement powers to protect people."
