A Liverpool care home has been fined £37,000 after failing to protect a resident who died partly from injuries caused by a fall from a first floor window.

Sure Care (UK) Limited, the provider of Derwent Lodge Nursing Home, was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs plus a £2,000 victim surcharge following prosecution by the CQC at Liverpool & Knowsley Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that Joseph Leighton, who was living with dementia, forced his first-floor bedroom open and fell to the ground on 6 June 2021.

Leighton was moved to a different care home and sadly passed away partly from the injuries he suffered from his fall on 24 August 2021.

A CQC investigation found a lack of HSE compliant window restrictors was identified during a local authority quality improvement visit on 5 July 2019 and in an audit of Leighton’s room on 7 June 2021.

Invoices were also found for window restrictors on 13 May 2021 and 20 May 2021, however, these were not fitted.

Karen Knapton, CQC’s deputy director of operations in the north, said: “This is a distressing case, and our sympathies are with the family of Mr Leighton and those affected closely by his death. Sure Care (UK) Limited failed in their duty to protect him in a place he should have been safe and receiving the best possible care.

“This fine is not representative of the value of Mr Leighton’s life, but this, and the prosecution reminds all care providers they must always ensure people’s safety and manage risks to their wellbeing.

“The majority of providers do a good job. However, where we find someone has been put at risk of harm, we will use our regulatory enforcement powers to protect people.”