Owners of care home admit health and safety breaches following death of resident

The owners of a care home, where an elderly woman died of hypothermia, have pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.

Annie Barritt, 91, a resident of the Oaklands Country Rest Home in Kirk Hammerton, near York, was taken to Harrogate hospital after being found unwell in her room in 2012.

Her temperature was found to be 25.3°C, rather than the average normal body temperature of 37°C. Mrs Barritt died that night.

An inquest into her death was held in November 2015 and found that there had been an inappropriately low temperature in her room and a failure to provide adequate basic care. Mrs Barritt had been suffering from dementia and as a consequence was unable to make a decision regulating the regulation of temperature in her room.

Harrogate Borough Council launched its own investigation into the death, which found there had been a serious breach of health and safety legislation.

Maria Mallaband Care Group Limited entered a plea of guilty to the offence at Harrogate Magistrates Court. Magistrates agreed with Harrogate Borough Council that sentencing should take place at York Crown Court as their sentencing powers were not sufficient and that greater punishment was needed.

Sentencing will happen in July.