May 16, 2005

A NHS trust fined £28,000 for a series of systematic failures which led to a mental health nurse being battered to death by a patient, has said it has since done everthing possible to prevent such a death happening again.

As well as the fine, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust was ordered to pay £14,000 costs, after the trust admitted neglect which contributed to the death of Eshan Chattun.

The 34-year-old nurse was beaten to death in June 2003 while working at Springfield hospital in south London, reported societyguardian.co.uk

Nigel Fisher, chief executive of the trust, said in a statement after the hearing on May 6 at the Old Bailey in London that it was "deeply sorry for the death of our colleague, Eshan Chattun".

"This was an exceptional incident. I believe we have done all we reasonably can to stop such an event ever happening again."

Societyguardian.co.uk reported that the prosecution had said the tragedy was "waiting to happen" and the judge called the trust's practices "seriously unacceptable and incompetent". It was the first time an NHS body had been indicted at such a high level.

The website reported that Mr Chattun was supervising Jason Cann, 22, who had been admitted that day under the Mental Health Act and was acting aggressively.

Mr Chattun was alone with no walkie-talkie or personal alarm, and was not properly trained in restraint techniques. His ear was bitten off and he later died from his injuries. Cann was convicted of manslaughter and ordered to be detained indefinitely at Broadmoor.

The Health and Safety Executive brought the case against the trust under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. This stipulates that every employer has a duty "to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all his employees".

Societyguardian.co.uk reported that the court heard the trust had not put in place measures that could have saved Mr Chattun's life. There was no telephone in the lobby area and, although there was one in the office, when Mr Chattun went into the lobby where Cann was held, his only communication would have been his mobile phone. This was later found on the floor near his body.

The court also heard that Mr Chattun had not received sufficient training in handling violent patients. Nor was he issued with a personal alarm.

Colin McCaul QC, for the trust, paid tribute to Mr Chattun and said "every possible - as opposed to every reasonable - step" had been taken since Mr Chattun's death to ensure such an incident did not happen again, at a cost of £2m.

The judge said he had to consider that, while a large fine might be appropriate for a profitable organisation, the NHS needed funds and a substantial fine would "result in a reduction of healthcare or further injection of taxpayers' money in this case. Such a fine would be entirely circular, travelling from the trust to the Exchequer and back again."

Societyguardian.co.uk article in full

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