Trust in charge of Lincolnshire's hospitals fined over £100,000
It pleaded guilty to failing to provide safe care to a patient
Last updated 25th Mar 2022
The Trust in charge of Lincolnshire's hospitals ULHT has been fined over £100,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide safe care to a patient, causing them avoidable harm.
It's after an elderly patient was admitted to Greetwell Ward Lincoln County Hospital in 2019. She later fainted and fell while unsupervised.
Iris Longmate also suffered burns when she was placed next to exposed hot water heating pipes while staff assessed her after the fall.
Iris was then admitted to hospital in Nottingham. She later contracted pneumonia and died.
A sentencing hearing took place this afternoon (Friday 25th March) at Boston Magistrates Court.
The trust pleaded guilty to a single offence of failure to provide safe care and treatment causing avoidable harm to Iris, for which the trust was fined £100,000.
The court also ordered the trust to pay £170 victim surcharge and £11,034 costs to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which brought this prosecution.
Fiona Allinson, CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said:
“This death is a tragedy. My thoughts are with the family and others grieving for their loss.
“People have the right to safe care and treatment, so it’s unacceptable that patient safety was not well managed by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
“Had the trust addressed the issues with the exposed heating pipes before Iris fell, she wouldn’t have suffered such awful burns injuries.
“The vast majority of people receive good care when they attend hospital, but if we find a provider has put people in its care at risk of harm, we take action to hold it to account and protect people.
“I hope this prosecution reminds health and social care organisations they must provide care in a safe environment that meets the needs of patients, so they receive the safe care and treatment they deserve.”
ULHT Chief Executive Andrew Morgan said:
“We would like to extend an unreserved apology to the family of Iris Longmate for the circumstances of her injury three years ago, and the pain and distress that she experienced.
"We have learned lessons from the incident, and would like to provide reassurance that action has been taken to address the risks from exposed radiator pipes at Lincoln hospital and across the Trust, to ensure that the events cannot be repeated.”