A care home manager has avoided jail after two vulnerable wheelchair users drowned during a day out she organised without conducting proper risk assessments. Janice Sowden, 60, admitted failing to provide safe care following the deaths of Alexander Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, when a wheelyboat capsized at Roadford Lake in Devon in June 2022.
No Risk Assessment Conducted
The court heard that Sowden, who had been the registered manager of Burdon Grange Care Home in Devon since 2016, carried out no risk assessment before taking six wheelchair-using residents to the lake. The wheelyboat, designed to carry wheelchair users, had been hired from the activity centre. Prosecutor James Marsland explained that Alexander and Alison were strapped into electric wheelchairs with no means of release. Within minutes, the boat took on water and capsized. Mr Marsland described how both victims were 'drowned by the weight of their wheelchairs,' which pulled them under. Another resident, Kate Date, was seriously injured.
Cultural Complacency and Fabricated Evidence
Despite being described as 'caring' and 'diligent' before the incident, a 'cultural complacency' had developed at the home, and Sowden's standards had slipped. Judge Stuart Smith noted that the facility housed 'extremely vulnerable' residents and that health and safety assessments were essential. He called Sowden 'blase' about risk and highlighted that insufficient consideration was given to staff capability—one staff member could not swim. After the deaths, Sowden attempted to fabricate evidence by creating a fake safety checklist to deceive investigators.
Sentence and Judge's Remarks
Sowden was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay a £190 surcharge and £2,000 in prosecution costs. Judge Smith said the case was 'nothing short of devastating' and that the deaths were a direct consequence of Sowden's 'cavalier attitude to good health and safety practice,' causing immeasurable grief to the families.
