NHS Trust Found Guilty After Patient was Impaled

Posted on May 19, 2017

A hospital trust faces a fine after a jury found it guilty of health and safety breaches following the death of a patient at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust was prosecuted following an incident in July 2012 when patient John Biggadike died after suffering “catastrophic” internal injuries when he was impaled on a lifting hoist which was being used to assist him. Mr Biggadike, 53, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, was receiving physio at the hospital ahead of being discharged.

During the two-week trial at Lincoln Crown Court, jurors were told that hospital staff were not using the equipment correctly but that no individuals were to blame.

The prosecution alleged that staff were not adequately trained or supervised in the use of the hoist.
The defence suggested Mr Biggadike’s death was caused by failures to act following a “serious incident” with a hoist in a Leicester hospital in 2007, rather than by inadequacies in training.

The 53-year-old fell on to the pole as he was being helped by two members of staff. His rectum was penetrated, causing “catastrophic internal injuries”. Staff had removed a knee support pad from the equipment which should have remained in place, the trial heard.

Since Mr Biggadike’s death, the trust has introduced hoist training for staff.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will be sentenced on 21 July.