An NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of over £76,000 after a patient fell from one of the trolleys at their hospital.
Major Fyfe, a 90 year-old veteran, suffered a broken neck and head injuries when he fell from a QA3 trolley at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust in March 2011. He died just 26 days after the accident.
In this case the HSE investigation found that while the incident was not caused by the hospital’s failings, it was due to a lack of maintenance of the trolley, and a lack of training in its proper use.
Maintenance of equipment is an essential part of keeping both patients and employees safe, and if the Trust had a comprehensive system for servicing and maintenance then this situation may not have happened; the issues with the trolley should have been identified before such an incident took place.
HSE Inspector Sharron Cripps said: “This incident could have been prevented. It is especially important in large organisations that they have effective systems in place to control risks and to check that the systems are working.“
Patient and staff safety should always be paramount within healthcare organisations; identifying risks and minimizing the potential dangers is a part of any sensible safety initiative; but if suitable training is not given to employees, or if essential maintenance is not carried out on equipment, the likelihood of accidents such as this increases significantly.
If you or someone you know has been injured while under the care of a healthcare organisation of any sort, you might be eligible to make a claim for compensation. None of us like the idea of prosecuting people who are trying to help us, but when mistakes are made, or situations are not handled correctly, you aren’t on your own; our solicitors are here to help. We have years of experience in dealing with medical negligence claims and will swiftly be able to talk you through the claims process and see how much you might be entitled to claim for. Contact us today to see how we can help you get the payout you deserve.