Legal News

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a health trust for inappropriate management of the use of bedrails in hospitals it runs.

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust was found to have failed to ensure that they managed the risk of bedrails – which is a fundamental element of patient safety, for which extensive and comprehensive guidance on risk, management and policies exist.

An initial HSE visit to the trust in February 2012 identified issues with bedrail management – and a second visit in May 2012 resulted in the service of an Improvement Notice on bedrail management and a letter with recommendations.

The trust identified actions to improve bedrail management, but failed to implement them.

When the trust was inspected in July 2013, inappropriate bedrails were again found to be in use – and management systems were not appropriate to manage the risk.

A further Improvement Notice on identification and maintenance of third-party bedrails was served.

The trust had a policy on bedrail management – but did not have the systems or procedures to underpin the implementation of the policy, HSE inspectors found.

Elements of the failure were the lack of a system to identify and inspect third-party bedrails, as well as the lack of planned preventative maintenance on manual beds and bedrails.

There was also a lack of an effective system to rectify faults with inappropriate bedrails, as well as lack of provision of appropriate training – and a lack of procedures to audit and monitor the effectiveness of the bedrail management system.

Following a guilty plea in Carlisle Magistrates’ Court, the District Judge referred the case to Carlisle Crown Court for sentencing.

Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust – which has its headquarters at Westmorland General Hospital, Burton Road, Kendal in Cumbria – admitted breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £18,465.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Carol Forster said:

“The need for adequate risk assessment and management of third-party bedrails has been recognised in the healthcare sector for a number of years –
and guidance and advice has been published by the relevant bodies to this effect.

“Bedrails are used to protect vulnerable people from falling out of bed – but the risks from inappropriate use of bedrails include the risk of entrapment by the head or neck, potentially leading to injury or asphyxiation.

“In this case, there was a lack of management systems to recognise the risk of bedrails, apply standards and safety alert information – and a corporate failure to prioritise the need to manage bedrails effectively.

“The trust failed to comply with the expected standards – and I hope this case will send a strong message to others with responsibilities for bedrail management.”

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