Last month an NHS Trust in Liverpool was fined for breaches of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The case was heard at Liverpool Magistrate’s Court and it was found that the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust had failed to act following a survey of offices at Derwent House on London Road.
The survey, which was carried out in 2006, identified an area in the basement of the offices which may have contained asbestos. It was recommended that the area be properly assessed. This was not done, despite the area regularly being visited by workers in order to access patient records.
In January 2013, an NHS Trust health and safety manager became aware of damage to an unused goods lift in the basement. The lift doors were found to contain asbestos, causing risk to anyone accessing the basement whilst carrying out their work duties.
Following the discovery of asbestos in the lift doors, a further survey was carried out and asbestos fibres were found in several different areas of the office basement.
The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They were ordered to pay costs of £696 along with a fine of £10,000.
Following the hearing, Imran Siddiqui, a HSE Inspector said;
“Around 4,000 people die every year as a result of breathing in asbestos fibres, making it the biggest single cause of work related deaths in the UK….
The Trust, in line with the 2006 survey, should have assumed asbestos was present in an area of the basement and taken appropriate action to make it safe for people working there. Instead, workers were allowed to regularly visit the basement to access patient files increasing the risk of exposure to the potentially deadly fibres.”
If you are concerned that a building contains asbestos you should contact a licensed asbestos contractor who will deal with any asbestos in the appropriate way. Do not disturb any suspected asbestos as this can release fibres into the air.