Key facts
- Two wheelchair users, Alexander Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, drowned when their boat capsized.
- Kate Dart was seriously injured in the incident.
- The incident occurred in June 2022 at Roadford Lake Activity Centre in Devon.
- Care home manager Janice Sowden failed to conduct a risk assessment for the excursion.
- Sowden attempted to falsify evidence of health and safety considerations after the incident.
- Sowden was ordered to pay £4,090 in fines and costs.
A care home manager has been ordered to pay £4,090 after two wheelchair users drowned when their boat capsized during a day trip on Roadford Lake in Devon. Janice Sowden, the registered manager of Burdon Grange Care Home, admitted failing to provide safe care and treatment that resulted in avoidable harm.
The incident occurred in June 2022 when six residents, all wheelchair users, were taken on an excursion to Roadford Lake Activity Centre. The wheelyboat they were using, designed to carry wheelchair users, began taking on water within minutes and capsized. Alexander Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, who were strapped into electric wheelchairs without means of release, were pulled beneath the surface by the weight of their chairs and drowned. Kate Dart also sustained serious injuries.
Exeter Magistrates' Court heard that Sowden failed to properly evaluate the dangers of the excursion and did not undertake or ensure a risk assessment took place. The prosecution described the situation as a "classic case of serious negligence." A "cultural complacency" was noted to have set in at the home leading up to the incident.
Judge Stuart Smith described Sowden's attitude as "blase" and "cavalier" regarding health and safety, noting that it should have been obvious that assessments were needed for "extremely vulnerable" service users. The court also heard that Sowden attempted to falsify evidence by creating a bogus checklist to "deceive" investigators.
Sowden was ordered to pay a total of £4,090, which included a £190 government surcharge and £2,000 towards prosecution costs. Judge Smith stated that the loss of Mr Wood and Ms Tilsley was a "direct consequence of your cavalier attitude to good health and safety practice."