Kettering hospital trust fined almost £500,000 after man suffers brain injury in manhole collapse
A hospital trust has been fined almost half a million pounds after a worker was found unconscious at the bottom of a manhole.
The man suffered acute sulphate intoxication, resulting in a traumatic brain injury, and ongoing issues with memory loss and nerve damage.
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £480,000 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The employee had been in the manhole unblocking a drain at the hospital on 1 February 2022 when he was discovered by other members of staff.
He was rescued by Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service and was treated at hospital for acute sulphate intoxication.
HSE inspector Heather Campbell said: “This case highlights the dangers of working in confined spaces.
"The manhole should have been identified as a confined space, and risk assessed accordingly. Safe systems of work for entry into confined spaces should have been in place, such as those outlined in the HSE’s Approved Code of Practice.”
An HSE investigation found Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust failed to identify the manhole as a confined space, and then failed to properly risk-assess the activity.
The trust did not prevent employees going into confined spaces at the site - which was custom and practice for a number of years.
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, said the HSE.
Its investigation also highlighted that no confined space training was given to members of the estates team and insufficient information and instruction was provided to those involved about suitable methods, the risks involved and the precautions to be taken when clearing drains and entering deep drains or manholes.
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The trust was fined £480,000 and ordered to pay £4,286.15 in costs at Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court.
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