A Hampshire care home has been fined almost £100,000 after a man died choking on his meal.

Buckland Care Limited, which ran Merry Hall Nursing and Residential Care Home - now called Hartwell Lodge - in Fareham, was fined £80,000, ordered to pay £16,305 prosecution cost, plus a £170 victim surcharge.

The company had already pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to provide safe care and treatment following the death of Alec Marshall on March 12, 2017.

The case had been brought forward by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Daily Echo: called Merry Hall Nursing and Residential Care Home, now called Hartwell Lodge. Picture: Google.called Merry Hall Nursing and Residential Care Home, now called Hartwell Lodge. Picture: Google.

During a hearing yesterday at Portsmouth Magistrates Court, it was heard that Mr Marshall required assistance to cut up his food and that he should be monitored during meal times.

On the day of his death, Mr Marshall was given his lunch and was left alone in his bedroom at Merry Hall.

Shortly after this, he was found in his room, unresponsive.

Paramedics were called and found a piece of meat lodged in his throat. Resuscitation was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was mentioned in court that the daily handover sheet used on the day of his death identified the risk of choking and that Mr Marshall needed assistance to cut up his food. But, it did not explain the requirements for monitoring or that food should be cut up into small pieces.

Rebecca Bauers, head of adult social care inspection in CQC’s south region, said: “This is a distressing case, and our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Marshall’s family. He had every right to expect good, quality care and it is right that the provider has accepted responsibility in this case.  

“It was the serious failure of the home to protect Mr Marshall from avoidable harm that led to CQC’s prosecution of the provider. In their role as provider Buckland Care Services had a specific legal duty to ensure care and treatment was provided in a safe way. We found they had failed to do this by not ensuring risks had been fully assessed and measures were not in place to prevent harm.   

“Where we find any care provider has put people in its care at serious risk of harm, we will take action to ensure that people are safe and hold providers to account.”

In response, a statement from Buckland Care Limited said: "This was a tragic incident and we would like to offer again our sincere apologies and condolences to Mr Marshall’s family.

"The wellbeing and safety of our residents remains our absolute priority. Since the incident occurred we have undertaken a thorough review of the service, which is now under a new management team.

"They have implemented measures to improve the service by introducing more robust processes and to provide increased levels of training to all our staff, who are working so hard during this pandemic."