The court heard that medication mistakenly administered to a resident who later died had been improperly stored at the care facility where he lived.
Jane Barnard, 67, has denied manslaughter charges relating to the death of 75-year-old Derek Davies, who passed away on 8 September 2021 at the same care home where she worked.
Prosecutors stated that Mr. Davies died after Barnard gave him medication meant for another resident, Jason Dodsworth. The drugs included 90mg of slow-release morphine.
During the trial at Gloucester Crown Court, it was revealed that the controlled medication had not been stored in the approved area and was retrieved from an incorrect location before being given out.
Defense counsel Andrew Langdon KC described Barnards actions as a terrible mistake.
Barnard has already admitted to a separate charge of wilfully neglecting Mr. Davies between 5 and 9 September 2021 by failing to report that she had given him morphine intended for someone else.
Wheatridge Court care home in Gloucester required controlled drugs to be locked in a designated room and administered only when two staff members were present. However, Dodsworths morphine was found stored in his bathroom cabinet instead.
Although Barnard was not responsible for the incorrect storage, the court heard that she failed to carry out the necessary checks and procedures before giving out the medication. She then delivered it to the wrong resident, Mr. Davies, who was seated in a shared area of the home.
Langdon mentioned that risk assessments and handling procedures for controlled substances had not been properly followed and suggested that usual standards within the facility had slipped. He emphasized that the trial concerns Barnard alone, not the care home or its management.
Barnard had worked at Wheatridge Court for 32 years, and the defense stated that until this incident she had maintained an admirable record.
The jury has now withdrawn to reach a verdict.
