BUPA Ordered To Pay Record Fine After Resident's Death In Care Home Fire

A care home business run by private health and care provider - BUPA has been ordered to pay more than £1 million after a resident died in a fire, while smoking at one of its care homes.

In what is thought to be the largest ever fine for fire safety breaches in the UK, BUPA Care Services (ANS) Ltd was fined £937,500 and ordered to pay £104,000 costs at Southwark Crown Court on 5 January.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order

London Fire Brigade brought the prosecution under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order after it was called to the blaze at the Manley Court care home on John Williams Close in Brockley in March 2016.

Cedric Skyers, a 69-year-old wheelchair user, died in the fire while smoking unsupervised in a shelter in the garden of the home. A care assistant saw the fire from a first-floor window and called 999 before staff attempted to put the fire out, but Mr. Skyers died from his injuries.

smoking risk assessment

Apparent burn marks indicative of previous incidents were found on Mr. Skyers’ clothing after his death

A subsequent investigation found that although a smoking risk assessment for Mr. Skyers had been carried out, it did not assess his use of emollient creams, which can be flammable if allowed to build up on skin, clothing, or bedding.

Additionally, apparent burn marks indicative of previous incidents were found on Mr. Skyers’ clothing after his death, something of which care, home staff, said they had not been aware. They said that if they had been, they would have ensured more regular checks were made when he was smoking.

Lack of fire safety compliance

London Fire Brigade alleged there had been a failure on BUPA’s part to comply with fire safety obligations, which placed Mr. Skyers and other residents at risk of death or serious injury in case of fire. BUPA pleaded guilty to contravening Article 11 (1) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, which relates to the management of fire safety measures.

Specifically, the company accepted that it had failed to:

• Ensure staff understood the risks of the use of emollient creams.
• Warn residents using paraffin-based products not to smoke, or require precautions to be taken such as the use of a smock or apron.
• Instruct staff not to leave a resident using paraffin-based products smoking unsupervised.
• Carry out an individual smoking risk assessment of the resident as normal with the control measures in place.

devastating consequences

“This case is a tragic example of what the devastating consequences of failure to comply with fire safety regulations can be,” said Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Paul Jennings.

He adds, “There are several measures which the home could have put in place to mitigate the fire risk which Mr. Skyers’ limited mobility, emollient cream use, and smoking posed, but none of these were implemented. Mr. Skyers’ family should rightly have been able to trust that he would be safe in a care home when sadly the opposite was true. Such a large fine highlights the seriousness of BUPA’s failure to protect a vulnerable resident in its care.”

BUPA's response

BUPA says it has implemented risk assessments at its care homes for residents who smoke

In response to the fire, BUPA says it has implemented risk assessments at its care homes for residents who smoke, together with regular staff training on self-harm, equipment, resident immobility, supervision, paraffin-based emollient creams, smoking aprons, and supervision.

Donald Day, Operations Director for Manley Court care home, said, “Our thoughts and condolences are with Mr. Skyers’ family."

detailed risk assessments

Donald Day adds, "Following this tragic accident in 2016, we took immediate action across all our care homes to prevent it from happening again. We take fire safety extremely seriously and have in place detailed risk assessments for all our residents that smoke, increased supervision, and we ensure our teams are regularly trained in fire safety measures."

He continues, "The wellbeing of residents in our care is always our priority and we are committed to keeping everyone in our homes safe.”