NHS staff injury payouts hit £50,000 in Walsall

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Walsall Manor Hospital, has revealed it paid out the cash to staff for the injuries suffered between 2012 and 2014.

But that figure is set to rise significantly with more than a dozen cases still to be decided.

For a total of 33 lodged claims over the years, 18 payouts have cost the trust £51,993, while 15 are yet to be finalised.

They range from a £5,290 payout to a member of staff who went to sit on a chair which gave way and suffered a fractured elbow to a worker who was given £2,171 for extreme back pain after pushing on of the patient trolleys.

The biggest payout from the trust was £10,600, after a member of staff slipped on a wet surface and sprained a left knee.

The next most costly injury occurred when a claimant was bitten by a patient's dog during a home visit. They were left with puncture wounds to the right arm, left ankle and chest, and then given £10,000 in compensation.

On two occasions money was paid out to staff who had been hurt by machinery, one where a metal divider went through the palm of their hand, causing a deep cut and another time when a staff member driving heavy machine pushed the machine into the claimant. Other injuries include back pain caused by moving boxes and pushing patient trolleys, which cost the trust a combined total of more than £3,500.

The hospital is facing various financial issues with NHS England demanding the trust reduce its deficit to £14.8m by the end of this financial year.

Jane Longden, deputy divisional director of estates and facilities at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Accidents can happen in any organisation in spite of the support and training that is put in place for staff and the trust is no exception. "All clinical staff receive annual health and safety training which covers a range of topics including slips, trips and falls, needle stick injuries, violence and aggression and manual handling.

"Clinical staff also receive face to face practical patient handling training on an annual basis while non-clinical staff receive face to face load handling training every 3 years.

"Non-clinical staff also have to complete an eLearning update course every two years covering health and safety topics

"When staff start work with the trust they attend an induction where general health and safety issues are discussed and they are given advice on appropriate footwear, lifting techniques and how to prevent injuries.All falls are reviewed and investigated and staff are encouraged to report anything that poses a risk to health and safety so that appropriate action can be taken or additional training provided."

Walsall MP David Winnick said that the trust should be 'learning a lesson from all of this' and striving to ensure payouts can be avoided in the future.

He said: "Clearly from the claimants point of view, what has happened is a legitimate problem and the fact the hospital has paid out shows they agree with them.

"The trust should be doing more to prevent these things from happening, it then works out better for everyone.

"I would hope that they are learning a lesson from all of this."

Responding to the figures, Dia Chakravarty, political director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said money paid out in compensation would be better spent on care.

She said: "Accidents will happen, but hospitals must do their best to ensure they live up to the legal standards they are required to by law.

"Every penny paid in compensation is a penny away from cancer drugs and better care."