Trio convicted of neglect of 85-year-old at Bromsgrove care home (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Trio convicted of neglect of 85-year-old at Bromsgrove care home

4:20pm Thursday 19th July 2012 in News

THREE care workers at a Bromsgrove residential home have been convicted of neglect after an 85-year-old dementia sufferer was found barely conscious lying on the floor of his bedroom.

Thomas Milroy, who should have been checked every two hours overnight, was discovered on the ground floor of Breme House, Providence Road, on a Saturday morning in February 2011.

He should have been in bed but lead carer Jane Sutton - who had just come on duty - found him wearing a pyjama jacket, daytime trousers, with one shoe and both socks on.

Mr Milroy was very cold and the radiator in the room was turned off, Worcester Crown Court heard during a seven-day trial.

A jury convicted Gail Broadway, 37, of Lyttleton Avenue; Glen Walsh, 23, of Granary Road, Stoke Heath; and Maxine Turbill, 46, of Grayshott Close.

Cleared of the same charge was Kerry Richardson, 43, also of Lyttleton Avenue.

Judge Robert Juckes QC remanded the trio on bail for pre-sentence reports, to be dealt with on August 10. The maximum sentence for neglect is five years jail.

During his summing up the judge told the jury they had to decide if this was a case of "wilful neglect" - as in deliberate or reckless lack of care and concern - or whether it was busy staff with a lot of residents to look after who had forgotten Mr Milroy.

Mrs Sutton told the court no concerns about any resident had been raised by night shift staff when she came on duty but she found Mr Milroy, who had Alzheimer's Disease, lying in pain.

Prosecutor Peter Grice alleged some staff abused the home's system by not seeing residents face-to-face, before entries went into a care plan book.

He said carer Turbill made an entry in the handover book at 4.30am that Mr Milroy “slept well”.

Mr Grice claimed Mr Milroy had not been put to bed the previous evening by Walsh, while supervised by lead carer Broadway.

There were no impressions or creases to show Mr Milroy had been in bed.

Giving evidence, home manager Karen Keen said Broadway, another lead carer, should have checked each resident before handing over to the night shift.

Walsh had undergone an extended induction period for the job, because he suffered from dyslexia. He insisted he put Mr Milroy to bed, but the pensioner wanted his trousers left on.

Broadway told the court she had to rely on carers to do the work she instructed them to do.

Turbill, with 20 years’ experience as a carer, said she filled in the form saying Mr Milroy slept well, because that was the procedure when they were no reported problems.

Richardson maintained she had not known Mr Milroy was in Room 101. He had earlier been in hospital, and she thought the room was unoccupied.

Mr Milroy died earlier this year, although his death was not related to the neglect incident.