'No one else should have to go through what we have' - family of grandmother who died on stairs in Midlothian care home

DEVASTATED family of a grandmother who died after falling down the stairs of a Bonnyrigg care home have welcomed an admission by owners of health and safety violations.

Sheila Whitehead fell down stairs to the boiler room

Sheila Whitehead, who had poor eyesight, stumbled past a rope which was supposed to hold residents back at Nazareth House in May 2017.

Owners the Nazareth Care Charitable Trust admitted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday not doing enough to prevent the 87-year-old from losing her life.

Mrs Whitehead’s death was one of nearly 100 in hospitals or care facilities across the UK reported to the Health and safety Executive in the last five years.

Nazareth House

“The family have welcomed the care home’s guilty plea and await to see what sentencing will produce,” said family lawyer Natalie Donald from Thompsons Solicitors.

“They are still grieving the terrible loss of their mother and grandmother, but this has brought them some degree of closure.

“Ultimately, the family’s concern was that no-one else would have to go through what they have.

“Too many elderly people suffer tragic accidents in care homes, and they are hopeful that this conviction will help prevent such incidents happening in the future.”

Investigators probing Mrs Whitehead’s death found the rope was too weak to bear any great weight.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard on how workers at the home found her lying in a “foetal” position with blood pouring out of her head.

Health and Safety Executive Investigators launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the pensioner’s death.

They concluded that bosses at the charity should have had physical barriers at the top of the staircase to prevent residents from using it.

Bosses at the trust responsible for the Nazareth House property were later charged with breaching health and safety laws.

On Thursday, the trust pleaded guilty to breaching sections three and 33 of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act.

Depute procurator fiscal Catriona Dow told the court that the trust has close links to the Sisters of Nazareth, an order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Mrs Dow told the court that in the time leading up to the fall, a GP found that Mrs Whitehead’s eyesight was deteriorating and that she had cataracts.

Staff knew about Mrs Whitehead’s health issues at the time of the accident.

Mrs Dow then told the court that Mrs Whitehead fell down stairs on the ground floor of the home - the stairs led to the boiler room.

“The death of Mrs Whitehead has affected staff greatly"

Defence advocate Susan Duff told the court that a health and safety consultant had earlier assessed the staircase and concluded that handrails needed to be installed.

She added: “He did not say anything about the red rope or the need for a physical barrier to prevent a fall.”

Mrs Duff said that if the consultant said about the need for a physical barrier then the charity would have installed such measures.

The advocate said that as a consequence of Mrs Whitehead’s death, the charity had improved their health and safety measures and that employees had been sent on training to learn more about risks to residents’ safety.

She added: “The death of Mrs Whitehead has affected staff greatly - they were deeply upset by her death.

“The staff at the home strive to create a happy, comfortable and safe environment for their residents who are people who cannot live alone.

“The Chief Executive of Nazareth Care Charitable Trust is present in court today and he has instructed me to to tender his deepest condolences to Mrs Whitehead’s family.”

Mrs Duff asked Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC to impose a fine on her clients. She asked Sheriff Welsh to impose a fine which reflected the charity’s guilty plea and would allow it to continue providing services.

Sheriff Welsh said he’d issue his decision about the penalty he will impose on the charity on Tuesday November 5 2019.