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Kettering, Northamptonshire · Wellingborough Magistrates' Court
An employee was found unconscious in a manhole while unblocking a drain at the hospital. The trust had failed to identify the manhole as a confined space, carry out proper risk assessment or put a safe system of work in place, and staff had not received confined space training.
Injuries: Acute sulphate intoxication resulting in traumatic brain injury, with ongoing memory loss and nerve damage.
Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
“Safe systems of work for entry into confined spaces should have been in place, such as those outlined in HSE's Approved Code of Practice.”
Any space with a foreseeable risk of dangerous atmosphere must be formally identified as confined space and worked under a proper permit system, not treated as routine drain maintenance.
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