Unguarded radiator burns victim
By David Waters, Managing Director CHIS and PrimeCare Insurance
19 October 2011
Assumptions are the enemy of your Duty of Care responsibilities, and nowhere is this more important than in a situation where a care recipient is incapable of providing any feedback to the care providers.
A terrible example of this was with an advanced dementia resident described as highly confused, who had fallen asleep in his chair and slumped forward onto a nearby radiator.
Staff believed the unguarded radiator was not working so the resident was left there to rest as they got on with other duties.
Tragically, only the thermostat was broken and the radiator was in fact working on full heat. The resident suffered severe burns and was rushed to hospital as soon as staff realised what had happened.
The resident was subsequently transferred to another nursing home where he passed away. The burns he had suffered were considered to be a contributing factor to the unfortunate victim's death.
A representative from the nursing home which failed to guard the radiator was asked to attend the Coroners hearing where they were treated in a hostile manner. In the final ruling, the nursing home was held partially responsible for the death.
The moral of this sad story is quite simple: use some common sense.
Radiator guards are obviously fitted for a very good reason and circumstances like this could easily have been avoided.
Astonishing as it may seem, the management of this particular nursing home were so arrogant they failed to prevent an almost identical set of circumstances to occur again. Their neglect has meant the home has since ceased trading and they lost a considerable sum of money.
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