The CQC has published guidance to help care homes avoid falls from windows.
Published as part of its learning from safety incidents series, the CQC advises care homes to manage the risk of falls to residents through risk assessments of the premises and the individual residents. This may identify the need to implement further measures to prevent residents falling from a height.
The guidance follows an incident in 2016 in which a resident died after falling from his second-floor bedroom window. At the time the window did not have window restrictors and the resident had been identified as at risk of severe panic attack and of falling.
The provider and manager were fined in excess of £17,500 after failing to complete an up-to-date environmental risk assessment (the most recent one was dated 2004) and a suitable individual risk assessment or to follow health and safety guidance for care homes.
