HC-One has reportedly been fined more than £500,000 due to a fire in one of its care homes that led to the death of a resident.

Scottish Legal News reported that 54-year-old resident Carol Hughes died in hospital on 25 March 2017 after injuries sustained in the fire at Arcadia Gardens Care Home in Glasgow, then under the HC-One banner.

HC-One pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to a health and safety work breach, resulting in a fine of £537,000.

The fire is thought to have started because the bed-bound Hughes had been left to smoke unsupervised in her room.

Since the incident, the home, sold by HC-One in 2023, improved its ratings with regulator the Care Inspectorate, which last inspected the home in 2022, giving it ‘good’ scores in every category.

Crown Office health and safety investigator Debbie Carroll said to Scottish Legal News: “The death of Carol Hughes could have been prevented if HC-One Limited had suitably and sufficiently assessed the risks to her health and safety by having access to smoking materials whilst bed-bound.

“Their failure to maintain the fire alarm detection system, ensuring it could accurately identify the location of the activation, led to delay in getting to the fire. This prosecution serves to highlight the need for all care homes to protect their residents and remind them they will be held accountable if they fail to do so.”

An HC-One spokesperson said: “First and foremost, we extend our deepest condolences and sincere apologies to the family of Ms Hughes. The safety of those in our care is our absolute priority, and we were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragedy that occurred in 2017.

“It was important to us that lessons were learned from this tragic incident, and we have undertaken extensive reviews of our fire management protocols and safety systems across our homes. We have also since enhanced our care planning processes and coaching for our teams.

“We are clear that this incident should never have happened, and we hope that today’s decision can bring a sense of closure to Ms Hughes’ family.”