Ambulance service fined for health and safety breach
The Scottish Ambulance Service has received a fine of £55,000 due to safety and health breaches that resulted in the death of an individual. The individual was a pensioner bound to her wheelchair. May Morris was 78 in 2008 when she was thrown out of her wheelchair by an ambulance. She was travelling and crashed in the ambulance. She sustained a broken hip and other injuries that resulted in her death three days later. She was trying to get to the Western Infirmary in Glasgow for her kidney dialysis when the accident happened.
It was determined after health and safety audits that the Ambulance Service was liable for the incident. They decided to plead guilty to the health and safety breaches. This is why the fine was reduced from £80,000. The family was happy to know that the company would be held accountable for their accident and the harm caused to their family member. The hope is that the service will have learned a lesson in how to strap individuals in a wheelchair properly in their ambulance so that an issue such as this does not occur again. It is certain that risk assessment training is needed considering no one thought that one could be hurt riding in an ambulance in a wheelchair. Typically, those travelling in an ambulance are strapped to a bed, but not always. The death occurred because of the driving and related safety issues.
