Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

NHS supplier faces court

by Personnel Today 1 Jan 2000
by Personnel Today 1 Jan 2000

Court give trust go-ahead to name NHS Supplies Authority as co-defendant in
latex gloves court case

The NHS Supplies Authority is likely to be sued in a chain of damages claims
initiated by a nurse who says she can no longer work because of latex glove
allergy.

In one of about 50 claims currently in motion, the courts have for the first
time given leave for an NHS trust to name the authority as a co-defendant.
Essex Rivers Healthcare Trust has until the end of the month to take up the
opportunity.

"This is very significant," said Graham Johnson, professional
development manager for MTL Medical Services and an expert witness in a number
of latex glove cases. "It will be the first time the authority has been
brought into the courtroom.

"Currently a hospital can ask the NHSSA to send gloves that are known
to be inherently dangerous. The NHSSA argues that since there is a market for
these gloves it must offer them. But the same could be said for Semtex. The
authority owes a duty of care to the trusts it supplies."

Karen Heyhoe, the registered general nurse bringing the case against Essex
Rivers, said, ‘The Supplies Authority has a huge case to answer. The health
authority does rely on it for the best deal and cost-effectiveness. If it is
going to supply these gloves it should be doing research as well into their
safety."

The NHSSA catalogue continues to offer powdered latex examination and
surgical gloves despite warnings from the Medical Devices Agency about the
potential risks of allergens released by both the powder and the latex proteins
used in some gloves’ manufacture. About 80 per cent of trusts no longer use the
gloves.

Last month, in an out-of-court settlement, an unidentified trust paid
£30,000 in compensation and offered re-employment to a healthcare worker it
dismissed in 1997 because of glove-related ill-health.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Daniel Bennett, solicitor with Leigh, Day & Co which is acting for 10
latex allergy sufferers, said most of the trusts in question are either
admitting or declining to challenge liability.

"We are able to demonstrate between 15 and 20 breaches of statutory
duty," Bennett said. "It is clear from the documentary evidence that
health trusts were not and are still not assessing the risks under the Personal
Protective Equipment at Work regulations, nor are they doing risk assessments
required under the COSHH regulations. These failures are making it very easy to
win these cases."

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

next post
Prepare for the end of the economic world as we know it

You may also like

Forward features list 2025 – submitting content to...

23 Nov 2024

Features list 2021 – submitting content to Personnel...

1 Sep 2020

Large firms have no plans to bring all...

26 Aug 2020

A typical work-from-home lunch: crisps

24 Aug 2020

Occupational health on the coronavirus frontline – ‘I...

21 Aug 2020

Occupational Health & Wellbeing research round-up: August 2020

7 Aug 2020

Acas: Redundancy related enquiries surge 160%

5 Aug 2020

Coronavirus: lockdown ‘phase two’ may bring added headaches...

17 Jul 2020

Unemployment to top 4 million as workers come...

15 Jul 2020

Over 1,000 UK redundancies expected at G4S Cash...

14 Jul 2020

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+