Care Home Manager Avoids Jail After Drowning Deaths

Registered manager Janice Sowden has been ordered to pay £4,000 and avoid prison for failing to ensure safe care, which resulted in the avoidable deaths of two residents. Alexander Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, tragically drowned when a wheelyboat they were in overturned at Roadford Lake, Devon, in June 2022.

Sowden, 60, who managed Burdon Grange Care Home, pleaded guilty to failing to provide safe care and treatment. She did not conduct a risk assessment for the outing involving six wheelchair-using residents. The wheelyboat, hired for the trip, began taking on water shortly after departure.

Both Alexander and Alison were trapped in their electric wheelchairs, which, without means of release, pulled them under the water when the boat capsized. The court heard that Sowden later attempted to deceive investigators by creating a fake checklist for the boat trip.

Judge Stuart Smith emphasized the severe negligence, noting the extreme vulnerability of the residents. He criticized Sowden's 'cavalier' attitude towards health and safety, stating her actions directly led to the loss of two lives and caused immeasurable grief to their families.