A NURSING home where a 91-year-old man was lowered into a scalding bath did not have adequate temperature controls or work-place policies to prevent the incident.

Retired Methodist minister Rev John "Harry" Doddrell died two days after the scalding bath at Kestrel House Nursing Home, Eastbourne.

Investigations into the incident have also found his bath temperature was not checked properly by staff before he was put in the water.

The inquiries, completed by Associated Nursing Services, which runs the home, and the Nursing Homes Registration and Inspection Unit, an arm of East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority, was discussed by the health authority today.

Investigations into the incident found:

l Two baths at Kestrel House were not fitted with temperature control valves, running hot water at 71C;

l There was no bathing policy for staff to follow;

l There were no signs warning of the heat of the water in the home's bathrooms.

Checks of other ANS homes within the health authority's catchment found eight instances of hot water running between 47C

and 69C. A safe temperature is about 43C.

Since the incident Kestrel House's management has agreed bathrooms would not be used until water temperatures could be controlled safely, a bathing policy and better staff training would be put in place and water temperatures would be tested monthly.

The health authority has stressed its report does not pre-empt the outcome of an inquest into Mr

Doddrell's death, which is still to be completed.

The ANS report concluded: "Mr Doddrell's family has been very supportive of Kestrel House."

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