A HEALTHCARE firm has been ordered to pay £1.04 million after admitting corporate manslaughter over the death of a patient who was put in a scolding hot bath.

Frances Norris, 93, died after she had been sat in a bath of boiling water on February 5, 2015, at Birdsgrove Nursing Home in Bracknell.

The two carers involved in her care - Noel Maida, 50, of Fairey Avenue, Hayes, and Elizabeth West, 46, of Middle Field, Pembury - were also sentenced today for their part in Ms Norris' death.

Aster Healthcare Ltd, Moseley Road, Surrey, was also sentenced after pleading guilty on Wednesday (6/10) to one count of corporate manslaughter.

The Royal Courts of Justice heard that Maida, who was a senior carer at the nursing home, had been bathing Ms Norris with another carer, who had not yet been trained in bathing patients, on the Berkshire wing at the home.

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Maida instructed the junior carer to add more hot water, and Ms Norris was in the water "for around 10 minutes" before the carer realised it was "hotter than she would have liked".

Ms Norris was referred to the specialist burns unit at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where she died on February 8, 2015.

A Thames Valley Police and Health and Safety Executive investigation found there was no bathing policy in place and staff at Birdsgrove Nursing Home were not adequately trained to provide a sufficient level of care.

It was also found that there was a long-standing problem with regulating hot water supply at the home, and Aster Healthcare Ltd had not followed the guidance for the safe provision of hot water.

Examination of company records, documents, and emails between employees, Elizabeth West, the director of Aster Healthcare Ltd and numerous third party agencies, also found they provided false documents to police and partner agencies in an attempt to mislead the investigation.

Birdsgrove Nursing Home was closed in 2016.

Maida pleaded guilty to one count of failure to discharge a duty under section 7(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was sentenced to 16 weeks’ custody suspended for 18 months.

West, 46, of Middle Field, Pembury, - who was care home manager at the time - pleaded guilty to one count of failure to discharge a duty under section 7(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. She was sentenced to nine months’ custody suspended for 18 months.

Aster Healthcare Ltd director Sheth Jeebun was also charged in relation to this incident however, those charges have been discontinued.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Sally Spencer, of the Major Crime Unit, said: “

Mrs Norris was a vulnerable lady who relied upon others to help her with every aspect of her daily routine. She should never have been placed at such risk of receiving these scald injuries leading to her death. The level of care she received before and immediately after being injured was not acceptable, Mrs Norris and her family deserved more from the people and company assigned with providing that level of care.

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“Aster Healthcare Ltd, Elizabeth West and Noel Maida were all responsible for providing a care service for Mrs Norris and were themselves experienced within the care industry. The simplest of tasks caused a fatality that if all of them had taken appropriate steps, could have been avoided.

“I am pleased that the defendants pleaded guilty before the trial. This has at least saved Mrs Norris’s family from further stress and anxiety that would inevitably have caused. I hope that today they finally begin to have some closure from this tragedy”.