29.04.14
Mid Staffs fined £200,000 over patient death
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £200,000 after failures to implement basic handover procedures and essential record-keeping led to the death of a diabetic patient.
Gillian Astbury, 66, a Type 1 diabetic, lapsed into a coma at Stafford Hospital after nurses failed to give her insulin. She died there in April 2007.
Following the death the Health and Safety Executive investigated, and found that a system for communicating patient needs at staff handovers was ‘inconsistent and sometimes non-existent’ at the trust. Additionally, record-keeping and monitoring of patient care plans were also far below acceptable standards.
At Stafford Crown Court, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said that Gillian Astbury’s death was “tragic” and wholly avoidable.
He added: “A significant fine is called for to reflect the gravity of the offence, the loss of a life and in order to send out a strong message to all organisations, public or private, responsible for the care and welfare of members of the public.”
The trust, which was fined £200,000 and also ordered to pay £27,000 in costs, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law.
Peter Galsworthy, HSE head of operations in the West Midlands, said: “Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust failed to implement a proper handover system, or to oversee the proper completion of nursing records and the monitoring of care plans. In doing so they put Gillian Astbury at risk.
“The trust’s systems were simply not robust enough to ensure that staff consistently followed principles of good communication and record keeping. Gillian’s death was entirely preventable. She just needed to be given insulin.”
Jeff Crawshaw, deputy chief executive of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “On behalf of the Trust, I want to again express our deepest and most sincere apologies to Gillian Astbury’s family for the unacceptable care she received at Stafford Hospital in 2007.
“Today marks the final stage in what has been a thorough and long running investigation into the failings which led to her tragic death.
“From the very beginning, we have acknowledged the failings in Gillian Astbury’s care, and we have never shied away from our responsibility for what happened to her.
“It has been recognised by all sides in this distressing case that our Trust is a very different and much better organisation now than it was when this tragedy occurred."
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