Gloucester care worker who mistakenly gave resident morphine cleared of manslaughter
Jane Barnard, 67, previously admitted wilfully neglecting Mr Davies and will be sentenced in January
Last updated 9th Dec 2025
A Gloucester care worker who mistakenly gave the wrong medication to a resident who later died has been found not guilty of manslaughter.
Jane Barnard, 67, who worked at Wheatridge Court in Gloucester has been on trial over the death of 75 year old Derek Davies.
She was cleared today (December 8) by a jury of manslaughter.
Barnard had denied the manslaughter of Mr Davies but previously admitted a second charge of wilful neglect.
The court previously heard Barnard mistakenly gave Derek Davies morphine prescribed for another patient Jason Dodsworth on the morning of September 6.
Mr Davies died two days later in hospital after falling ill.
The court was told his cause of death was a consequence of morphine toxicity.
Barnard, of Longlevens, Gloucester who had worked at Wheatridge Court for 32 years failed to carry out the proper checks before administering morphine and later admitted she had failed to disclose what had happened.
The court heard she disposed of the drugs Mr Davies should have received and pretended the medication she did give him, intended for Mr Dodsworth, had been dropped down the sink.
Two days after the incident, on September 8, Barnard rang Kim Jones, deputy manager of the home, to tell her she had given Mr Davies the wrong medication.
Defending, Mr Langdon suggested Barnard might have expected Mr Davies to fall ill, but could not have foreseen his death.
Mr Langdon added:
"Until that moment, she had led a life that would make any of us proud,"
"She made a terrible mistake."
In a statement issued through Gloucestershire Police, following the verdict, Mr Davies' family said:
"The last four years since our Dad's death have been extremely upsetting for our family, both because we have missed him terribly and because we have had to live without knowing what caused his death and how it occurred.
"We have been kept in the dark, and the uncertainty and lack of knowledge surrounding the facts of his death have left us in a permanent state of torment, wondering what happened and how much he might have suffered. This has affected the way we remember Dad and his life, as well as our ability to grieve, which has all been clouded by the criminal investigation.
"Going through this has been traumatic for everyone involved - our Dad and family, as well as the defendant and her family - there are no winners here.
"We don't know how much more time we would have had with our Dad but these events robbed us of that precious time and he is greatly missed.
"We are thankful for the hard work and effort that has been put into this by the police and Crown Prosecution Service, and we hope with the closure of this trial and with key questions answered, that we can start to process what happened and to remember Dad for the person he was."
Barnard will be sentenced for the second charge of wilful neglect on January 19th 2026.