6:10am Monday 6th July 2009
By Tanya O'Rourke
A major inquiry has been started by health chiefs after a male patient was badly hurt when he fell from a window at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
Thomas Wilson, 45, suffered injuries including two broken ankles when he plunged more than 20 feet from a toilet window.
Last night he was in a stable condition at the hospital.
Immediately after the incident, bosses at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ordered safety checks to be carried out on all windows at BRI and St Luke’s Hospital.
They found restrainers on the window from which Mr Wilson fell had been forced allowing it to be fully opened.
But Mr Wilson’s partner Leanne May, 34, has questioned where he should have been better supervised by hospital staff after he was admitted for a suspected overdose of the tranquilliser Valium.
Miss May, of Reevy Crescent, Buttershaw, Bradford, said she was shocked to learn of the incident in a telephone call from hospital.
The mother-of-five said: “He’s in a really bad way.
“They took him for CT scans but fortunately there does not seem to be anything wrong with his spine.
“It was terrifying. As soon as I heard the phone ring I knew something was wrong.”
The couple’s children are aged from three to nine and Miss May said the two oldest children had learned what had happened to their father.
“We’ve had no answers,” Miss May said. “I’m absolutely torn up. My little boy and girl have been very upset.” A Trust spokesman said it had begun a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and a review of Mr Wilson’s medical care and treatment.
He said: “Central to our investigation is a safety review of all windows across Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital to ensure they continue to meet the latest regulations and best practice.”
The spokesman said checks were made annually by maintenance staff and “regularly” by ward staff to ensure the windows are safe.
An additional round of safety checks was immediately carried out after the accident.
He said: “All the windows on Ward Four – where the patient was being treated – are fitted with restrainers. This is mandatory for higher-level wards, and is a safety precaution designed to prevent the windows being opened too far.
“Our initial inquiries have revealed that, in this incident, the restrainer on the window in question had been physically forced open, allowing the patient to climb out.”
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