Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust fined over £1 million after admitting safety failings

It's follows an inquiry into the death of two patients

Author: Matt MaddrenPublished 18th May 2022
Last updated 18th May 2022

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has been fined more than £1.3 million at Telford Magistrates' Court for safety failings linked to the deaths of two patients

The trust had admitted three offences of failing to provide safe care after an inquiry into the deaths of pensioner Max Dingle and dialysis patient Mohammed Ismael Zaman, at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which was recently the subject of a highly critical report into the maternity services it offered between 2000 and 2019, admitted the charges through its barrister at Telford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The court heard one of the offences relates to the death of 31-year-old Mr Zaman, who suffered severe blood loss while undergoing dialysis in 2019.

Another charge was brought against the trust by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the death of Mr Dingle, who was aged in his 80s when his head became trapped between a bed rail and a mattress in 2020.

Opening the facts of the case against the trust, the CQC's lawyer Ryan Donoghue said the failures in care provided to Mr Zaman "were the legal cause of his death, for which the trust is responsible".

Mr Donoghue added that Mr Dingle's "head was trapped between the bed rails and mattress" after he was admitted with chronic lung disease.

An alarm was immediately raised when Mr Dingle was found, the court heard, and he was freed, but he died from a cardiac arrest.

The court heard the deaths occurred at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in October 2019 and May 2020.

Referring to the death of Mr Dingle, Mr Donoghue said:

"The basis (of the guilty plea) is that the failures exposed him to a significant risk of avoidable harm."

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