Two hospital employees accused of causing the death of an elderly woman who was left alone hanging in a hoist above a bath being filled with steaming hot water have had legal proceedings against them halted.

And the Island's top judge has strongly criticised former directors of the Department of Public Prosecutions for the lengthy delays that now make it impossible for the defendants to have a fair trial.

In April 2002, 81-year-old Gladys Smith suffered a heart attack and first degree burns to her feet at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after she was left unattended in a hoist above a bath tub being filled with hot water.

But it wasn't until four years later that charges were brought against two hospital staff Laurie Julian Leroy Furbert and Carmelita Francis-Pitcher.

As he stopped the prosecution, Chief Justice Richard Ground labelled the delays in bringing a criminal case “egregious and inexplicable” and said: “There were lengthy delays before the defendants were charged which were wholly unjustifiable. These delays have made it impossible for the defendants now to receive a fair trial.”

A breakdown of the four-year saga reveals:

March 26, 2002: Mrs. Smith dies. An autopsy is held the following day.

April 2002: Police investigation begins and concludes in December.

January 2003: Police file reaches Department of Public Prosecutions.

May 2003: DPP gives further “unspecified” instructions to Police. A response is received in June.

August 2003: Coroner is asked to conduct inquest and sets November date.

November 2004: One year after it had been scheduled, Coroner's Inquest begins.

January 2005: Coroner delivers verdict of “misadventure”.

October 2005: Case file received at DPP, it is reviewed in the following January.

March 2006: DPP advise Police to present charges. Suspects are charged in April.

July 2006: A motion to stay or quash the indictment is made by lawyer Elizabeth Christopher on behalf of Mr. Furbert.

December 2006: Chief Justice Richard Ground rules a stay of indictment against both defendants due to the length of time elapsed from the incident to the filing of charges and related factors which he believes makes it now impossible for a fair trail to take place.

Mr. Justice Ground was critical of the one-year delay in an inquest taking place, which he notes was caused by an “unseemly dispute over an adjournment” sought by KEMH to allow its counsel to attend.

But when the inquest eventually concluded in January 2005 with a verdict of misadventure, that should have been the end of the entire matter, said the Chief Justice. Lamenting the string of delays he said: “There is no reason given why the accused could not have been charged, at the latest, by December, 2002, when the Police investigation was complete. “The desultory progress of the matter thereafter was simply inappropriate for proceedings which might lead to prosecution.”

He went on: “It was wholly unsatisfactory that the DPP had first spent nearly 18 months considering the matter before allowing the coroner to embark upon an inquest. Having waited 18 months it was then unfortunate, to say the least, that the Coroner's Court, because of what seems to be inflexibility on all sides over hearing dates, spent 17 months before coming to a verdict.”

Mr. Justice Ground noted that current DPP director Vinette Graham-Allen was not in charge during the majority of the delays that took place.

Although the delays were “wholly unjustifiable” and not caused by the defendants, the Chief Justice said this by itself was not reason enough to stop the prosecution of the case.

However, he then considered the cumulative effect of points raised by Mr. Furbert and his lawyer Ms Christopher in an affidavit that pointed out one of the Police investigators has since died, one of the key witnesses is now overseas and the inability four years after the event for the defendant to make independent arrangements for an autopsy of Mrs. Smith, to examine the hospital equipment or seek additional witnesses.

“I would not have been persuaded by any of these on its own. But when taken together, I consider the cumulative effect of these consequences of the delay is that it is probable the defendant's chance of a fair trial will be genuinely impeded,” said Mr. Justice Ground.

Both Mr. Furbert and Ms Francis-Pitcher, who was represented by Mark Pettingill, entered pleas of not guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Lawyers for both defendants moved to have the indictment stayed for the same reasons.

Having made his judgment, Mr. Justice Ground added: “None of this should detract from the fact that the circumstances of Mrs. Smith's death were most tragic and distressing.

“There is obviously a strong public interest in preventing a repetition and in ensuring the elderly and infirm are cared for properly.”

As she left the courtroom Ms Francis-Pitcher, who no longer works for the hospital, said she was relieved and had been praying for such an outcome. Lawyer Ms Christopher was unable to offer a comment on behalf of Mr. Furbert regarding the result, but said the judgement spoke for itself.

In a statement KEMH said: “A thorough review was undertaken after the incident in 2002 that resulted in further staff training and process changes to ensure patient safety and care.”