Tigh-Na-Muirn Limited, which runs Tigh Na Muirn Residential Home in Dundee, pled guilty to a health and safety at work breach committed between 20 March and 1 June 2020.

The procurator fiscal depute told Dundee Sheriff Court that on 27 May 2020 David Fyfe, a resident at Tigh Na Muirn, swallowed cleaning liquid and later died on 31 May 2020.

Mr Fyfe had dementia and was unable to administer his own medication. Mr Fyfe tested positive for Covid-19 on 6 May 2020 and was placed in temporary isolation within his room in line with the Covid resilience plan the home had in place at that time.

After ingesting the cleaning liquid, Mr Fyfe was taken to hospital and, following a gradual deterioration in his condition, died on the 31 of May 2020 at midnight.

Speaking after the sentencing, Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the COPFS, said: “The death of David Fyfe could have been prevented if Tigh-Na-Muirn Limited had taken the reasonably practicable preventative measure of ensuring that residents were not exposed to the risk of hazardous cleaning chemicals.

“Their failure to adequately assess the risks posed to residents by the storage of cleaning sanitiser in their rooms had fatal consequences.

“This prosecution serves to highlight the need for all care homes to protect their residents and remind them they will be held accountable if they fail to do so.”