Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust has been fined and ordered to pay costs of almost £500,000 after being convicted of Health & Safety offences following the murder of a care home worker by a mental health patient.
The Trust had decided to place the patient in a care home which it had never used before. It relied on assurances from the care home owner (who was also convicted) that his premises could cope with the patient. The Health & Safety Executive prosecuted the Trust on the basis that its risk assessment had been inadequate and that it had not taken sufficient steps to minimise risks to persons outside of its own employment.
In its role placing the patient in a care home the Trust was effectively acting as a commissioner. This case provides a salutary lesson on the importance of assessing and managing risk. CCGs will be taking on a range of the responsibilities currently held by PCTs for commissioning the care of some very challenging patients. If they commission arrangements that are not suitable for a patient who goes on to harm someone else - or self-harms - they risk investigation prosecution and significant reputational and financial damage.
For a link to Mills & Reeve's detailed briefing on this case click here.