Southend Hospital has been ordered to pay more than £12,000 after admitting a string of Health and safety breaches that led to three accidents at the site.

The hospital was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the accidents between October 1999 and September 2003.

During this period two members of staff and one patient were injured as a result of the hospital not having an effective plan for the protection and prevention of injuries to employees and patients at the Prittlewell Chase site.

The first incident in October 1999 involved a nurse in accident an emergency who got a serious back injury moving a patient when she had not been taught the correct way to do so.

The second incident happened in January 2003 when a patient in the hospital was improperly placed in a sling and ended up falling out of the equipment.

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