Fordingbridge care home provider fined £150,000 after residents death
The Hampshire site have apologised "wholeheartedly" for the events
Last updated 27th Nov 2020
The provider of Fordingbridge Care Home has been fined £150,000 for safety failures, after the death of a 56 year-old resident.
Andy Clegg died two weeks after he was admitted to Salisbury District Hospital in November 2017 with Legionnaires' disease.
He moved into the home in April of that year following issues with his mental health.
Andy was diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia, a recognised complication arising from exposure to the Legionella bacteria.
A criminal investigation was launched against Sentinel Healthcare by the Care Quality Commission.
They pleaded guilty to charges of causation of harm and death and the exposure of all other residents at the care home to a risk of harm.
As well as the fine handed to them, they were ordered to pay costs of £17,500 and a victim surcharge of £170.
Andy's brother, Matt, said:
"While three years has passed since Andy's death, the hurt and pain we continue to feel is as strong now as it was when he died.
Andy was such a loving and caring man. We have always known that nothing could ever make up for his death but as a family we owed him a duty to find out what happened to him and why.
His death was hard enough to take but we feel our pain was only added to by the position the company and its managing director Al Donnelly have adopted. We tried to raise concerns with the company but felt that there was reluctance for them to accept any responsibility.
It was only when we asked others to help investigate that we feel our concerns started to be taken seriously, and what happened to Andy started to be established.
Our only hope now is that Andy's death reminds Sentinel and other companies of the need to uphold safety standards at all times so others don't have to suffer like he did.''
Sentinel Healthcare have now apologised for the incident:
"We accept the findings of the court and apologise wholeheartedly for the events that led to the passing of Mr Clegg. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones and we hope that today's findings offer them some closure.
While the ultimate responsibility remained with us, the court has noted that we were let down by our advisers and contractors and this contributed to the events which led up to this tragic accident.
In the three years that have passed since, we have worked tirelessly with all the relevant authorities to make sure nothing like this happens again.
Our work to improve standards has been recognised in the latest CQC inspection report, which has graded the home as 'good' in all areas.''