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Nurse pleads guilty following deaths of two nursing home residents

Caroline Taylforth, who manages Rossendale Nursing Home, had been charged with two counts of causing avoidable harm for failing to provide adequate care and treatment
Rossendale Nursing Home in Lancashire, where two residents died and the nursing home manager pleaded guilty to causing avoidable harm

Caroline Taylforth, who manages Rossendale Nursing Home, had been charged with two counts of causing avoidable harm for failing to provide adequate care and treatment

Rossendale Nursing Home in Lancashire, where two residents died and the nursing home manager pleaded guilty to causing avoidable harm
Rossendale Nursing Home in Lancashire, where the two incidents took place. Picture: Google Maps

A nurse has pleaded guilty to two counts of causing avoidable harm after two people died at the nursing home she owned and managed.

Registered nurse Caroline Taylforth appeared at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on 13 February after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) brought a prosecution case against her.

Two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008

Ms Taylforth, who was the registered manager at Rossendale Nursing Home in Lancashire at the time of the incidents, accepted responsibility for causing two people avoidable harm.

She had previously pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in August, but changed her plea to guilty on Monday.

Her appearance came after the CQC brought its own prosecution following two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, asserting that Ms Taylforth had failed to provide adequate care and treatment, which resulted in avoidable harm to two older patients.

Court hears details of the charges against nurse

The two charges related to incidents on 6 November 2019 and 16 January 2020 in which two residents died.

One charge was in relation to a female resident who died following a choking incident after eating dinner in the dining room. It later emerged that she had experienced three previous choking incidents but had not been referred to specialist services or had a prevention plan put in place.

The other charge related to a male resident at risk of falls whose mobility was deteriorating. He had a fall at the Rossendale Nursing Home, breaking his neck of femur. He died a few weeks later.

Lack of prevention measures

A CQC report found that in both instances prevention measures were overlooked or poorly implemented, putting service users at unnecessary and avoidable harm. The home was rated inadequate by the CQC in June 2021.

Ms Taylforth will be sentenced at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on 5 April.


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