A health board, NHS Highland, has been fined £180,000 after a patient died while being treated at a hospital.
Colin Lloyd, 78, was brought to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, on 6 February 2019 following a suspected fall at his home and later admitted to the hospital’s surgical ward.
While in hospital, Mr Lloyd suffered from three additional falls on 6, 12 and 14 February 2019, which led to bleeding on the brain.
Mr Lloyd passed away from fatal head trauma two days after his final fall.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found NHS Highland, the health board responsible for Raigmore Hospital, failed to provide the necessary nursing staff to ensure the 1:1 ratio of care was applied.
NHS Highland, of Assynt House, Beechwood Park, Inverness, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The health board was fined £180,000 at Inverness Sheriff Court on 31 January 2023.
HSE Inspector Penny Falconer said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.
“Organisations should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
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I wonder, as a former EMT and ‘elderly’ PTS crew member, if Mr. Lloyd had underlying mental health (dementia) issues that contributed? Unfortunately restraint of patients, even for their own good, is fraught with legal problems for nurses and other medical professional, even if it’s the only way to keep them safe, especially as bed ‘guards’ are easily overcome. The 1:1 nursing care ‘requirement’ certainly indicates such an underlying condition may have been a factor.