Authorities criticised after care home deaths

The relatives of seven residents who died after contracting coronavirus at a Devon care home have criticised the decision not to prosecute anyone, an inquest has heard.

The families spoke out after hearing that the manager of the Holmesley Care Home in Sidford and a nurse had been arrested and interviewed by police following the Covid-19 outbreak, but were not charged.

They were questioned following the deaths of William Wilkinson, 102, Doris Lockett, 92, Roy Gilliam, 96, Jean Hartley, 81, Susan Skinner, 70, Ronald Bampfylde, 92, and Stanislawa Koch, 93, who all died in March or April 2021.

Giving evidence, Det Sgt Tom Hall said the two staff members - manager Joanne Burchell and nurse Christos Provistallis - had been arrested on suspicion of ill-treatment or wilful neglect, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was not a realistic prospect of conviction.

The Exeter inquest heard allegations that Mr Provistallis refused to wear a face mask after claiming "Covid was a conspiracy".

Others alleged Ms Burchell had not sent sick staff home due to shortages and had ignored positive lateral flow test results.

"It was an untested area of law at the time, and we didn't have any pandemic-related case law that we could refer to," Mr Hall said.

"We sought specialist advice from within the CPS around whether the threshold was met for prosecution."

"We maintained regular contact with CPS throughout that period. There is case law around wilful neglect and ill-treatment and some of the issues we faced around our ability to take the matter forward related to that case law."

But Wladek Koch, whose mother died, suggested the authorities did not have the "courage" to prosecute.

"If they had done the honourable thing that would have set a precedent. As it is now, there is a licence for people to do exactly the same again and get away with it," he said.

Sally Burns, the daughter of Mr Bampfylde, said: "I am absolutely astounded by all of this.

"It is just a litany of processes, investigations and recommendations and this, that and the other, that everyone can ignore, and nothing happens at the end of it except people die."

Alison Shaw, who is the sister of Ms Skinner, said: "Now knowing what happened and hearing it stated and proven, I am actually also quite shocked that potentially there will be no repercussions on the people who I feel were responsible."

Alison Longhorn, area coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, adjourned the inquest and said she would deliver her conclusions next week.

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