THE heartbroken sister of a vulnerable Wordsley man who choked and died while being looked after by carers has condemned the decision to let them walk free.

Andrew Strazdins, aged 52, was given chicken bites to eat in the back of a car by Barbara Arch and Wendy Silvester, knowing he could only swallow mashed food.

They were taking him on a break to Cornwall when he choked on the food and his distraught sister, Elaine Scott, from Halesowen, said he and other vulnerable people had been let down by their sentence.

She said: “They killed him. They knew the danger of feeding Andrew solid food but took the risk. Now my brother is dead and they have walked free.”

Arch, aged 58, of Smallshire Way, Wordsley, and Silvester, aged 50, of Newland Court, Birmingham, admitted failing to discharge their duties as carers and were handed six-month jail terms, suspended for 12 months, at Exeter Crown Court last week.

But Mrs Scott, aged 57, said: "We do not treat vulnerable adults the same as we do children - they are very much second class citizens. My brother had a mental age of three. If the same had happened to a child there would have been outrage and they would have gone to prison."

Mr Strazdins, who lived at Badger Court off Brierley Hill Road, had severe learning difficulties and suffered from the swallowing condition dysphagia and received 24-hour care from Lifeways Community Care based in Oldbury.

Arch had known him for 15 years and cared for him for 10 years and Silvester had cared for him for three years.

The court was told they were both aware he had to be supervised when eating mashed food, and that he should only be fed while sat in a chair at a table to prevent him from choking.

A risk assessment had warned specifically of the risk of choking and that he may die as a result of not feeding him as required.

But Mrs Scott, an NHS administration manager, of Quantock Close, claimed the sentence amounted to them “getting away with it”.

She said: “I simply cannot comprehend why they gave Andrew the chicken bite on that day as they had looked after him for so long and knew he couldn’t swallow foods unless they were the right kind of consistency.

“They killed him through negligence in my mind and they have completely got away with it with this sentence. It has let Andrew down and all other vulnerable people who require the care of others.”

“The sentence should have acted as a warning to others in the care industry, but I don’t feel it has. I just hope Andrew’s death makes others providing care realise that if you don’t follow procedures and take risks, you are playing with peoples’ lives.”

Renu Daly, of medical negligence specialists Hudgell Solicitors, said legal action was now being investigated, possibly against both Lifeways Care and Dudley Council, holding them liable for the actions of the carers.

A spokesman for Lifeways said: “Following Andrew’s death almost two years ago, we have been searching for answers as to what happened on that fateful journey. The court has heard the facts and his two carers have admitted that, despite all the procedures and processes that were in place, their actions fell short that day.

“Our thoughts go out to Andrew’s family and to all who knew him and we will continue to learn lessons to ensure something like this never happens again. The safety of our service users remains our number one priority.”