A grandad died after being left submerged in a retirement village pool for 11 minutes. An inquest into the death of Stephen Paul Richards, 73, heard that there was no lifeguard present at Richmond Village's wellness spa in Aston-on-Trent and staff failed to spot him on CCTV.
The tragic incident occurred back in 2021 at the retirement home, part of Bupa, in Derbyshire. The 73-year-old died in hospital on May 29, 2021, one day after his medical episode.
Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court heard that Mr Richards was left submerged in the water for 11 minutes and 27 seconds. He was reportedly undiscovered for 10 minutes and 59 seconds, before being found by another spa user.
A medical examination conducted by pathologist Dr Terrance Jones concluded that the grandfather suffered from an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia and suffered a cardiac arrest. The primary cause of his death was a "catastrophic and irreversible" hypoxic cerebral injury caused by a lack of oxygen to his brain.
Assistant coroner Louise Pinder decided to issue a narrative verdict. She says she was unable to decide between an accidental death or natural causes for what she described to be a “complicated” and “difficult” case.
Ms Pinder explained how the incident cannot be clearly described as an accident as, for example, Mr Richards had “not slipped”. However, she admitted that the “immersion [in the water] did play a part, as did the heart disease that he suffered”.
Both, she added, were of “equal significance”. The inquest heard how there was not a lifeguard present and spa staff left Mr Richards on his own, failing to spot him on CCTV.
However, Ms Pinder highlighted that “it remains unclear whether earlier extraction from the water would have altered the outcome”. The 73-year-old was a regular user of the wellness facility but the assistant corner added that Mr Richards was also “frail” and suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Following the incident, Richmond Village has since installed “drowning detection” equipment at the pool. The establishment claims walks by staff also now occur every 30 minutes and CCTV checks are mandatory every ten minutes.
In addition, solo swimmers are now observed but the inquest heard residents “voted against having a lifeguard”. Ms Pinder ended proceedings by offering her condolences to Mr Richard's family, adding she was “pleased” measures have been taken by the spa.
Philippa Kellar, Managing Director for Richmond Villages in Aston on Trent said: "We were deeply saddened by the passing of Mr Richards and our thoughts are with his family. Since this happened in May 2021, we have taken measures to increase safety in our pools and are introducing a new technology system across all our village spas, which monitors pool users while residents swim. Our condolences go to Mr Richards’ family.”
Meanwhile the family of Mr Richards paid tribute to the much-loved grandad. His daughter, Emma Sixsmith, said: “He was a very gentle man, very knowledgeable and very wise. He was a quiet gentleman, but very intelligent and a good sounding board for talking through things.
"He also had a good career and was respected by a lot of people in the village and during his career. He worked for the railway as an engineer for most of his life, and then as an HR trustee of a pension fund. He’s very much missed.”
Her husband, Paul Sixsmith added: “He was a gentle, lovely man. Very kind with great great advice and he was loved by everybody he met.”
When asked for their thoughts on the inquest’s narrative verdict, Mrs Sixsmith said: “It was a very comprehensive and robust investigation, I don’t think anything more. I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure with some things. We support what the coroner says, we’re not going to say it wasn’t the outcome we wanted. We’re satisfied.”
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