Health and safety horrors (6)
In January 2024 Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was fined after a worker was found unconscious in a manhole.
In February 2022 an employee of the Trust was found unconscious in a manhole. He had been unblocking a drain at the hospital when he was discovered by other workers.
He was rescued by the fire and rescue service and was treated for acute sulphate intoxication. This cause a traumatic brain injury and ongoing issues with memory loss and nerve damage.
The Trust had failed to identify the manhole as a confined space and to properly risk assess the activity. It failed to prevent entry of employees into confined spaces. This had been custom and practice for a number of years.
The Trust had also failed to identify a safe system of work or method statement for cleaning blocked drains and no precautions were taken to reduce the risk of injury.
No confined spaces training had been given to workers. Insufficient information and training had been provided to workers involved or methods to be adopted when clearing drains and entering deep drains or manholes.
The Trust was fined ￡480,000 plus ￡4200 costs under s.2 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974
Active
5 个月Forget the ￡480K fine, I'd be asking, who in the Trust failed to identify a confined space? Who in the Trust was responsible for risk assessments? Who in the Trust was responsible for entry customs and practices? Who in the Trust was responsible for safe systems of work, method statements and precautions? Who was responsible for providing information and training in hazardous areas? Confined space entry is a known high-risk activity, if the Trust can't get this right, are risks being ignored in the operating theatre?