A Shropshire pensioner fell out of his hospital bed and died just months after health chiefs vowed to set up a specialist team to help prevent such accidents, it emerged today.

An inquest heard last week how 89-year-old Francis Steele died two weeks after falling out of bed at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. The inquest jury found failures by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and nurses led to Mr Steele’s death.

Mr Steele, of Lower Netchwood, Ditton Priors, near Bridgnorth, died in November 2007 and the jury returned a verdict in Telford last Friday of accidental death caused, or contributed to, by individual failure caused by systematic failure because of chronic staff shortages and a lack of training.

The trust promised back in June 2007 to set up a trouble-shooting team to reduce the number of fatal falls after criticism from a coroner.

Review

Mr Michael Gwynne, then coroner for Telford & Wrekin, called for a review into patient care at the PRH at an inquest on 64-year-old Anthony Horobin, who died from a fractured skull following a fall. Mr Gwynne told Dr Stephen Evans, medical director of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, to ensure lessons were learned from the death of Mr Horobin, of Avon Dale, Newport.

Dr Evans said at the time that a “falls prevention team” was due to introduced by the trust. Hospital trust spokesman Andy Rogers said today that it took the issue of falls very seriously.

He added: “Slip, trip and fall accidents are one of the most common types of accidents people have and unfortunately these do happen in hospital as well as in the community.

“The risk factors for having a fall can be exacerbated through an admission to hospital, for example risks related to the physical effects of the patient’s illness, impaired physical and mental function, medication and other treatments, and being in an unfamiliar environment.

“The trust takes the issue of preventable falls very seriously and has a Falls Task Force.

“There has been a downward trend in the number of falls in our hospitals since 2007.”

He added: “Since 2007 many improvements have been introduced at the Trust, such as bringing in a new stock of beds with bed rails built into them.”

By Simon Hardy