A private hospital company has been fined £160,000 for breaching health and safety regulations after three (3) people were injured during a chlorine leak. The company pleaded guilty to two (2) charges of failing to discharge general health, safety, and welfare duty in relation to an incident on March 11, 2021, when a chemical reaction caused the toxic gas to be produced at the hospital’s hydrotherapy pool. Three (3) people were injured during the incident, resulting in one, a contractor – being admitted to hospital for his symptoms.
The court heard that on March 11, 2021, two (2) employees with relevant experience in balancing the chemicals in the hydrotherapy pool were NOT in. A contractor engineer was called to the pool, and he rang one of the experienced members of staff who attempted to talk him through the procedure over the phone.
District Judge Tim Pattinson said: “Mr XXXXX was inexperienced and untrained at carrying out this procedure. This was the problem. What should have happened, with hindsight, is very easy to see. The pool should have been closed until an appropriate, qualified engineer was available.”
The court heard that the two (2) tanks in the pool’s plant room were NOT labeled, resulting in Mr XXXXXX adding chemicals to the wrong one, causing a chemical reaction that produced the toxic gas chlorine.