A care home manager has avoided a prison sentence after two disabled people died in her care during a day out. Alexander Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, drowned when a wheelchair-accessible boat capsized at Roadford Lake in Devon. A third person, Kate Date, was seriously injured in the incident in June 2022.
Manager Admits Failing to Provide Safe Care
Registered manager Janice Sowden, 60, admitted failing to provide safe care and treatment that led to avoidable harm. She had taken six wheelchair users from Burdon Grange Care Home in Devon to the activity centre but did not assess the risks of the outing.
Prosecutor James Marsland told the court that the wheelyboat, designed for wheelchair users, had been hired for the trip. Alexander and Alison were strapped into electric wheelchairs with no means of quick release. Minutes after boarding, the vessel took on water and capsized. The weight of their wheelchairs pulled them under, causing their deaths.
History of Complacency
Sowden had been the registered manager since 2016 and was previously described as caring and diligent. However, a cultural complacency developed in the home before the incident, and her standards slipped. She did not conduct any risk assessment for the needs of service users, nor did she ensure one took place. Judge Stuart Smith called it a classic case of serious negligence.
The judge noted that the facility housed extremely vulnerable people and that health and safety assessments should have been obviously essential. There was insufficient consideration of staff capability; one staff member could not swim. Sowden was described as blase about risk.
Attempted Deception
After the incident, Sowden attempted to fabricate evidence of health and safety considerations by creating a fake checklist for the boat trip to deceive investigators. She was ordered to pay a total of £4,090, including a £190 surcharge and £2,000 toward prosecution costs.
Sentencing, Judge Smith said: “This case is nothing short of devastating. The lives of two much-loved residents, Alexander Wood and Alison Tilsley, have been lost. This was in no small part a direct consequence of your cavalier attitude to good health and safety practice. This incident has caused immeasurable grief to the families of Alex and Alison.”
