Kettering General Hospital fined £480k over employee brain injury

A hospital trust has been fined £480,000 after an employee suffered a brain injury while unblocking a drain.

The man was found unconscious in a manhole by other members of staff at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire on 1 February 2022.

He was rescued and treated for acute sulphate intoxication, causing ongoing memory loss and nerve damage.

The hospital admitted it "did not do enough" to ensure the man's safety at work.

In a hearing at Wellingborough Magistrates' Court, it pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of The Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was ordered to pay £4,286.15 in costs in addition to the six-figure fine.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust failed to identify the manhole as a confined space, and thereafter, failed to properly risk assess the activity.

The trust also failed to identify a safe system of work or method statement for clearing blocked drains and no precautions were identified to reduce the risk of injury, the HSE said.

HSE inspector Heather Campbell added: "This case highlights the dangers of working in confined spaces.

"The manhole should have been identified as a confined space, and risk assessed accordingly."

Deborah Needham, the chief executive of Kettering General Hospital, said: "We offer our sincerest apologies to our colleague and his family. We acknowledge that we did not do enough to ensure his safety at work prior to this incident in February 2022.

"Since then, we have thoroughly investigated what happened and implemented a number of changes including; employing more health and safety advisers; increasing hazard awareness training; and implementing changes to guidance.

"We will continue to focus on ensuring we do all we can to look after the health and safety of our colleagues at work."

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