A private healthcare provider managing a hospital in Ipswich has been fined for safety failings after an employee suffered a fractured kneecap.

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Shanon Welch
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1 Page: 1 of 8 Prosecutions Healthcare provider fined after worker injury A private healthcare provider managing a hospital in Ipswich has been fined for safety failings after an employee suffered a fractured kneecap. Mrs Shelagh Allen, from Mendlesham, Suffolk, was working in the clinic room of a ward at Nuffield Health Ipswich Hospital on 5 May 2011 when the incident happened. The floor of the clinic room was being wet-mopped by a housekeeper during the ward's busiest period. Mrs Allen went into the room after completing a patient drugs round and fell badly on her right knee causing a multiple fracture of her kneecap. Her knee was operated on at the hospital that same day and she was discharged two days later. She was fitted with a leg brace and was able to walk only with the aid of crutches for around 4 months. Mrs Allen could only return to work on light duties after ten months and still has to take painkillers. She now has reduced movement in her right knee and can no longer kneel on it. She may still have to undergo further surgery. Ipswich Magistrates' Court heard that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Nuffield Health had failed to ensure the safety of Mrs Allen and others whilst working in their hospital. Nuffield Health, registered at Coombe Road, New Malden, Surrey, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined 5,000 and ordered to pay 10, in costs. The company was also asked to pay a 15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses. After the hearing, HSE Inspector Glyn Davies, said: "This incident was completely avoidable. Nuffield Health should have scheduled the floor cleaning for a much quieter time and restricted access to the wet floors until they had completely dried. The hospital floors should have been tested for their slip-risk and consideration given to replacing any high risk surfaces as well as providing staff with anti-slip footwear. "None of these simple safety measures was taken and no thorough risk assessment was carried out, resulting in a long term employee suffering a serious and painful injury. "Slipping and tripping are the most common causes of major injuries within UK workplaces yet there is freely-available guidance from HSE for employers to use. In 2010/11, 35 per cent of all reported injuries to employees were due to slips, trips or falls. If slips and trips were taken more seriously and proper controls introduced the number of injuries would reduce. "HSE will not hesitate to take action where there is the risk of serious harm to people at work."

2 Page: 2 of 8 Company fined after worker's finger severed by saw A Stoke-on-Trent timber company has been fined after an employee lost his finger while operating a circular saw. The 42-year-old worker from Stoke on Trent, who has asked not to be named, severed his finger while using a circular bench saw at Scott Timber Limited on 12 January A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the top guard on the saw had not been adjusted correctly, the required 'push stick' protection device was not attached to the machinery, and the employee had not been given sufficient training to operate the saw. Stafford Magistrates' Court yesterday (Wednesday, 9 May) heard that the victim was off work for several months as a result of the incident, and his day to day life has also been adversely affected. Scott Timber Limited of Oldfields Business Park, Birrell Street, Stoke on Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching section Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The company was fined 5,000 by the court, and ordered to pay full costs of 2,309. HSE inspector Katharine Walker said: "This incident was wholly preventable. If the company had put the appropriate precautionary measures - including a correctly adjusted guard and a push stick - in place, it simply would not have happened. "Circular saws are in widespread use across the woodworking industry, and have a relatively high incident level. The majority of circular saw bench incidents result in fingers being severed, or requiring amputation, and in most cases occur when the saw guard was either missing or not properly adjusted. "The requirements for guarding, protective devices and machine operator training are set out in the PUWER Approved Code of Practice (ACOP), which explains to the employer what he needs to do on a practical level to comply with the law. This publication is well known in the industry and is free to download from the HSE's website. Any companies working with these types of machinery should make sure that they are familiar with it."

3 Page: 3 of 8 Totton director fined after worker suffers burns The director of a Totton company has been fined after an employee suffered burns while cutting the top off an unused propane gas tank at the director's home. The 29 year-old worker from Winchester, who does not want to be named, suffered burns over his left arm, torso and abdomen when he was asked by Jamie Thomas Jewell, of Calmore, Totton, to cut off the top of the tank with a disc cutter which set the flammable gases alight, on 2 September The employee had to take three weeks off work and return to his job on light duties for a further month. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the gas tank had not been emptied and made safe. The risks of the work had not been assessed and no information, instruction or training was passed to the employee. West Hampshire Magistrates' Court heard today (9 May) that Jamie Thomas Jewell, 40, director of Suffix Pre-cast Ltd of Brokenford Business Park, Brokenford Lane, Totton, Southampton, was out of his depth with the work. He did not have sufficient knowledge of the hazards associated with working with propane gas to carry out the work competently or to supervise others as they did so. Jamie Thomas Jewell, of Calmore, Totton, Hants, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act and was prosecuted as an individual under Section 37 of that Act. He was fined 2,000 and ordered to pay costs of 2,451. Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Ray Kelly said: "This incident should never have happened and it was only a matter of good fortune that the worker was not killed. It was irresponsible of the defendant to take an employee to his house. He was out of his depth with this work, having never before tried to do anything like it. Neither the defendant nor the employee had any prior experience of this type of work and as such there was the potential for further and more widespread damage to life and property. "It's important to stress that there was no wrong doing on the part of the company. This was an irresponsible act of a director who should have known better. This case emphasises the need for employers to understand the hazards of work activities before they place their employees in situations where they might be affected. Employers need to take responsibility for ensuring they understand the dangers they introduce so they can adequately control them."

4 Page: 4 of 8 Print firm fined after flash fire injures two workers A printing company based in Waltham Forest has been fined for safety failings after two workers were burned in a flash fire when vapours from a flammable cleaning fluid ignited in a print room. The two printers, employed by Delta Display Ltd in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, suffered burns and one suffered serious breaks to both legs as he tried to escape the fire. One of them described the explosion and fire as a flamethrower coming from the top of the printing press. An investigation into the incident on 20 May 2011 was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which brought the prosecution. HSE found the company had ignored guidance given by the press manufacturers that there was a danger of fire and explosion if any cleaning agent with a flash point below 55 degrees centigrade was used. Westminster Magistrates Court heard (9 May) that the two men had been using the solvent provided to hand-clean the blankets of a printing press, a regular task to clear the build-up of ink. The solvent, called QE3, had a flash point of minus 20 degrees centigrade. They had completed part of the process when one of them saw a flash in front of his eyes and the fire started. He jumped from the press over a safety rail to escape, shattering his left ankle, fracturing his right heel and sustaining burns on his right calf and left arm. Fellow workers were able to extinguish the fire. This employee was in hospital for 15 days and initially off work for four months. He had two operations and is currently undergoing physiotherapy after the second. The other employee received burns to his arms but was back at work soon after the incident. After the court hearing, HSE Inspector Chris Tilley said: "These two men have suffered serious and painful injuries because Delta Display Ltd did not heed the guidance from the manufacturers of the printing press. Their workers had been at risk whenever that solvent was used to clean the printing press. It was entirely foreseeable that a fire might result. The risks from flammable substances are well known in industry as are the relevant preventative measures. In this case, if the company had completed a sufficient risk assessment they would have identified that using QE3 solvent as a cleaning agent with this type of press was dangerous and could have substituted it for a safer cleaning material. The company introduced a safer alternative days after the incident but made little effort beforehand to consider the risks and put a system of work in place that would better protect their workers. Delta Display Ltd of Walthamstow, E17, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined 12,000 with 5,250 costs. The company, part of the Delta Group, employs some 400 people and specialises in producing promotional marketing materials

5 Page: 5 of 8 Landlord prosecuted after builder falls to his death A landlord has been fined after a self-employed builder died while replacing a roof on a property in Middlesex. Mr Jagdev Singh Bal, the landlord of a property on Upton Road, Hounslow, was contacted by his letting agency when tenants reported a wet ceiling in an upstairs bathroom. Mr Bal engaged Sarabjit Singh Sanghera to replace the roof. Mr Sanghera in turn arranged for his brother and two labourers to assist him. Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday (9 May) that on 26 November 2009 the roof replacement was largely complete and the workers were clearing the site when they heard Mr Sanghera fall. They found him lying unconscious on the ground near the bottom of a ladder. He did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead at West Middlesex Hospital later that day having sustained serious head and neck injuries. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that no scaffolding had been erected around the property, and that workers, including Mr Sanghera, were using two ladders to access the roof. It is not known whether Mr Sanghera had any experience in carrying out roof work, but the three workers he employed had no training in this type of work or in any aspects of health and safety associated with construction. Mr Jagdev Singh Bal of Hathaway Road, Grays, Essex, pleaded guilty breaching Regulation 9(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations He was fined 4,000 and ordered to pay costs of 4,129. After the case, HSE's inspector Loraine Charles, said: "HSE does not seek to hold Mr Bal responsible for the sad death of Mr Sanghera - the precise circumstances of his death can now never be known. However, it is vital that small residential landlords appreciate that they have legal duties in respect of the health and safety of persons who carry out work on their properties. "These duties are not onerous. They do not require clients to be experts in construction or health and safety matters, or to undertake direct supervision of their contractors, but only to make appropriate enquiries into the arrangements for carrying out the work safely. "These enquiries and the actions they prompt may be sufficient to prevent needless death or injury."

6 Page: 6 of 8 Construction firms sentenced over Liverpool crane collapse Two construction firms have been sentenced after a crane collapsed onto a city centre apartment block in Liverpool, resulting in the crane driver being paralysed from the waist down. The 79-metre-high tower crane was being used as part of a multi-million pound project to build a new eight-storey hotel and seven apartment blocks at Kings Dock Mill on Tabley Street when it overturned on 6 July The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the site's principal contractor, Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, and structural engineering company Bingham Davis Ltd following an investigation into the incident. Liverpool Crown Court heard the crane fell onto a partially constructed apartment block, across a road and came to rest on the Chandlers Wharf apartments. Eight counterweights on the crane, weighing a total of 56 tonnes, broke free and crashed through the roof and six floors of the building. Crane driver Iain Gillham, 55, from Woolton, fell from his cab onto the roof of the apartments and through the hole created by the counterweights. He suffered multiple injuries including a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull, broken right shoulder, broken ribs, crush injuries to his left side, and major spinal injuries which resulted in his legs being paralysed. No one inside the building was injured but residents had to be evacuated from the 64 apartments, and some were rescued from their balconies. The damage to the building was extensive and residents were unable to return to their homes for nearly two years while major reconstruction work took place. The HSE investigation into the incident found that the crane's foundation could not cope with the forces generated by the crane. During the construction of the foundation, both Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Bingham Davis Ltd agreed to cut away essential steel reinforcement bars from the four concrete foundation piles, so that the crane's feet could sit on top on them. These were replaced with up to 5 steel rods in each pile. This action reduced the forces the foundation could withstand. Summing up in court, Judge Gilmour said he was satisfied that it was the removal of the reinforcing steel and the inadequate replacement of the steel rods that led to the foundation being overloaded and the crane collapsing. Both companies were found guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court by failing to ensure the safety of workers or residents. Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, of Church Street in Heage, Derbyshire, was fined 280,000. A decision on prosecution costs will be made separately. Bingham Davis Ltd, formerly of Temple Street in Liverpool, has ceased trading since the crane collapse after going into voluntary liquidation. The company was fined a nominal 1,000. Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector at HSE, Warren Pennington, said: "Serious failings on the parts of both Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd and Bingham Davis Ltd were uncovered by the Health and Safety Executive during an extensive and complex investigation into the crane collapse.

7 Page: 7 of 8 "Whilst it is bad enough that Iain Gillham will be unable to walk for the rest of his life as a result of the failings of both parties, it is no exaggeration to say it was only by pure chance that this catastrophic event did not result in multiple fatalities and significantly more damage to property. "The circumstances leading to the collapse were a mess. Bingham Davis employees had no previous experience of designing the type of crane foundation used at Kings Dock Mill. Likewise, Bowmer & Kirkland's employees at Kings Dock Mill had no experience of building one. Both parties made disastrous errors that were entirely preventable. "The original error was made by Bingham Davis Ltd, which failed to spot a basic mistake in its calculations for the loadings imposed by the crane. This created a material risk which had the potential to have led to a crane foundation being constructed that was not strong enough to hold the crane up. "During construction of the foundation, Bingham Davis advised Bowmer and Kirkland to cut away essential steel reinforcing bars in the foundation piles and replace such with steel rods. The removal of such reinforcing steel, resulted in the foundation being too weak to support the crane. The foundation was further weakened when Bowmer and Kirkland failed to ensure the adequate insertion of the replacing steel rods. "Neither Company did enough to check what the result would be of cutting away this essential steel reinforcement and replacing such with steel rods."

8 Page: 8 of 8 News Man jailed for illegal inspections of play equipment A Chester man has been jailed for more than 14 months after repeatedly ignoring a legal order preventing him from inspecting inflatable play equipment. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Peter McCormack (previously known as Peter Coltilda and Peter John Morrell), of Garden Lane, Chester, for carrying out inspections of inflatables and issuing test certificates for them in contravention of a Prohibition Notice from HSE, and for carrying out unsafe seam repairs to one. Caernarfon Crown Court heard that examples of wrongdoing by Mr McCormack, aged 77, included: An inspection of a pool inflatable at Poynton Leisure Centre, Cheshire, on 15 July 2010 and the issuing of the certificate two days later An inspection of a bouncy castle in Carterton, Oxfordshire, on 23 August 2010 and the issuing of the certificate a day later Another bouncy castle inspection at Abbey Leisure Centre in Selby, Yorkshire, on 19 August 2010 One at Tadcaster, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011 One at Selby Park, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011 He repaired one of the bouncy castles at Selby Park poorly on 3 August 2011, so there was a risk of children's fingers and toes being trapped in the open seams. The court also heard today that in these illegal inspections, Mr McCormack failed to spot defects, which could have caused injuries to children. He pleaded guilty to seven breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and one of Section 3(2) of the Act and was sentenced to 62 weeks in prison. He has already served 78 days imposed at an earlier hearing for breaching bail conditions. Today the court ruled he must serve half of the remaining time before being released on licence. Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Steve Flanagan said: "Inflatable play equipment must be properly maintained and inspected to make sure it is safe for children to use. HSE served the initial Prohibition Notice in 2008 because Peter McCormack's work was substandard and unsafe. "By breaching that Prohibition Notice repeatedly - and even ignoring a direct order from a judge at Shrewsbury Crown Court in Mr McCormack has shown that he never had any intention to stop illegally inspecting inflatables. "He has shown utter disregard for the safety of children and for the law and has cheated the companies he issued the certificates for, by taking their money when he shouldn't have done the work. If people who carry out illicit or poor inspections of inflatables are not stopped, it's only a matter of time before a child suffers a serious injury." Mr McCormack has changed his name by deed poll. He was previously known as Peter Coltilda, and before that as Peter John Morrell. The court also heard that Mr McCormack is also now known by the name Paul Armstrong.

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Editorial. Victoria. Absolute Shocker. Reported incidents. Visit us on the web. Traffic Management Focus Absolute Shocker Editorial Traffic Management Focus Barry Dunn, WorkSafe s Construction Program Strategy Manager writes about the traffic management focus, which commences on the 15 August 2016. The Safe