A FAMILY have spoken of their shock at learning that a second home run by the owner of Greengates in Westbury was fined £70,000 after it admitted it put the lives of elderly residents at risk.

John Baxter, 67, of Deverell Close, Bradford on Avon, whose father died outside Greengates last February, said: “We were incredulous to find the local council in Lincolnshire has taken Chong Yeoh [director of the home] to court for health and safety deficiencies at the home he has up there.

“When you read that one of the affected people was a 97-year-old found outside with hypothermia it is almost déjà vu, although in this case the judge did say that it wasn’t a significant cause in the three deaths that occurred afterwards.”

The Baxter family is still waiting to see if the Care Quality Commission will take formal action against Greengates Care Home Ltd and its former manager, after the death last February of Mr Baxter’s father Frederick, 97. His body was found outside the Redland Lane home, and staff did not noticed he had left the building until the early hours.

An inquest returned an open verdict and since then Wiltshire’s Assistant Coroner Nicholas Mr Rheinberg has written to Wiltshire Police asking them to further investigate the actions of the Greengates care home manager.

In January Apex Care Ltd, of which Chong Yeoh is the sole director, admitted breaching health and safety regulations at a 28-bed home in Spalding, Lincs. Charges were brought by South Holland District Council following incidents in 2012, in which three elderly people died after walking out of the home.

Judge Simon Hirst told Lincoln Crown Court: “This case is all about the failings of Apex Care Ltd to devise, implement and enforce an effective system to control security of the building. The effect of that failure was to expose the residents of the home at considerable risk.”

Problems at Greengates highlighted at the March inquest – unlocked doors, a shortage of staff, lack of training and a failure to regularly check on residents – were similar to those raised in court in the case against Apex Care Ltd.

The CQC said it was unable to link the incidents at the two homes because those in Spalding had occurred before the CQC had been set up in its present form.

Following the inquest it said it was reviewing the evidence and considering what further enforcement action it might want to take.

The Wiltshire Times has attempted to contact Mr Yeoh, who is a director of Greengates Care Home Ltd and of Apex Care Ltd, but he has not responded to a request for a comment.