Bosses
at a Scottish NHS Trust have been fined £3,000 after they admitted to exposing
an employee to a hazardous chemical substance at work.
The
staff nurse, who worked at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, was diagnosed with
occupational asthma after inhaling a disinfectant used to sterilise surgical
equipment in operating theatres.
Grampian
NHS Trust admitted a health and safety breach at Aberdeen sheriff court, saying
there had been a ‘number of failures’ in their management system.
In
a separate case, a former nurse recently won £240,000 compensation after she
developed a life-threatening allergy to latex while working at two hospitals in
Swansea.
The
court awarded in Alison Dugmore’s favour after hearing that she suffered a
series of anaphylactic attacks as a result of using latex gloves coated with
corn powder.
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