Training Failures Led to Patient Death

Tuesday, 22nd March 2011

A care home operator was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £40,823 costs at the end of December 2010 for serious training failures following the death of a patient as a result of ‘inappropriate and dangerous’ restraint techniques.

The patient in question was 42 year old Anthony Pinder who had a learning disability with associated behavioural problems. Mr Pinder was restrained for approximately 90 minutes by staff at the care home in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on October 1st 2004. He was eventually released and crawled unaided to his room, but was found dead a short time later.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the care home group failed to ensure staff were adequately trained to carry out the safe control and restraint of their residents. The techniques used to control Mr Pinder were described in court as ‘poor, inappropriate and dangerous’. The court went on to say that failure to train staff effectively in safer restraint techniques rested with management.

This lack of training had been drawn to the attention of the company following an inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection five months earlier but no action had been taken.