An NHS trust has been fined £50,000 after an elderly man fell out of his bed and suffered fatal injuries.

89-year-old Francis Steele died two weeks after falling off his bed at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford in November 2007. His bed had only been fitted with one rail and Shrewsbury Crown Court heard how staff made no efforts to find another one for the other side of his bed, despite being asked to do so.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust after it determined that another bed rail, on the other side of his bed would have prevented the fall. The trust pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches at court.

An earlier three-day hearing heard from a nursing expert who said that staff had not been properly trained in relation to using bed rails. The jury on that occasion returned a verdict of accidental death "caused, or contributed to, by individual failure because of chronic staff shortages and a lack of training".

The trust has apologised to Mr Steele's family and admitted that "failings" had contributed to his death.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-wm-28810.htm