Late delivery of equipment linked to patient’s death

The late supply of defective equipment used by care staff to reduce harm from a pressure ulcer contributed to the death of a vulnerable patient, a coroner has concluded.

Private provider NRS Healthcare supplies dozens of local authorities with equipment for patients in the community and contracts directly with NHS trusts providing community services.

A prevention of future deaths notice issued by a coroner in north London last week said the court had heard evidence of “numerous and ongoing delays and ‘problems’ in the service provided by NRS Healthcare. While I heard that there had been some improvement, I was told that the service provided was still ‘not great’.”

The inquest was into the death of Sheila Wexler, whom coroner Ian Potter found died of “natural causes, contributed to by increased immobility as a result of delayed and defective turning equipment being supplied for the treatment of a pressure ulcer”.

Trust board papers presented to directors in January said: “There are known issues with NRS (pressure ulcer-relieving equipment company) for a number of equipment types since the contract implementation. Concerns were escalated to the integrated care board and the commissioners of this service. Although there [have] been some improvements it remains inconsistent.”

The Whittington would not release its incident report or confirm how many people came to harm. It said: “Disclosing this incident report into the public domain could seek to damage our relations with the supplier in question, and possibly that with our other suppliers, which would not be in the public good.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 21 January 2025