Aged Care Provider Penalized $66,000 for Failure to Prevent Client’s Death from Burns

An aged care company in Melbourne has been fined $66,000 (US$43,000) after one of its residents died from burns.

Bluecross Community Care Services Group Pty Ltd was fined by the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court on Aug. 6 for failing to prevent serious injury risks for its clients.

Court documents revealed that the man, a resident at a Bluecross care centre in Glenroy suburb, succumbed to burns from a wall-mounted heater in his private bedroom.

After an unobserved fall, the man inadvertently rested his feet against the heater, resulting in burns on both feet.

Despite being transferred to Royal Melbourne Hospital, he was refused admission due to his aged care centre’s COVID-19 status and received in-home treatment instead. Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated over the subsequent weeks.

As a result of the tragic incident, the man had to undergo amputation of four toes on his left foot and a skin graft on his right foot by November 2023.

Unfortunately, he eventually succumbed to sepsis complications in March 2022, a condition where the immune system responds severely to an infection.

Following the incident, WorkSafe Victoria issued an improvement notice to Bluecross in December 2021 concerning the risks associated with hydronic heaters.

BlueCross was instructed to address these risks as residents faced the danger of burns from prolonged contact with hydronic wall heaters in their rooms.

In May 2022, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) warned about the hazards of hydronic heaters, prompting aged care providers to review their facilities.

During the court proceedings, BlueCross pleaded guilty and was fined $66,000, alongside additional costs of $4,132. Failure to plead guilty would have resulted in a $200,000 fine with a conviction.

Bluecross operates a network of 53 aged care centres in Victoria and became part of Opal HealthCare in June 2024 after a change in ownership.