Dying doctor warns of asbestos ‘hidden epidemic’ caused by NHS failures

A doctor and mother of two with just months left to live has warned of a “hidden epidemic” of asbestos-related cancers among NHS staff and patients because hospitals have failed to properly handle the toxic material.

Kate Richmond, 44, has spoken out to raise awareness after she won a legal case against the NHS for negligently exposing her to asbestos while she was working as a medical student and junior doctor.

An investigation by The Independent has learnt there have been 13 prosecutions linked to NHS breaches of regulations for the handling of asbestos since 2010, while 381 compensation claims have been made by NHS staff for work-related diseases, including exposure to asbestos, since 2013, costing the health service more than £26m.

According to data from the Health and Safety Executive, between 2011 and 2017, a total of 128 people working in health and social care roles died from mesothelioma, the same asbestos-related cancer which is killing Kate Richmond.

She described how maintenance staff removed asbestos ceiling tiles with no protective measures, allowing dust and debris to fall on towards where patients were in their beds and staff were working. Managers at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry failed to heed warnings by workers that they were putting people at risk.

“They made an economic decision that condemned me to death,” said Dr Richmond, adding: “No amount of money can compensate for my children growing up without their mother.”

She described how maintenance staff removed asbestos ceiling tiles with no protective measures, allowing dust and debris to fall on to wards where patients were in their beds and staff were working. Managers at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry failed to heed warnings by workers that they were putting people at risk.

“They made an economic decision that condemned me to death,” said Dr Richmond, adding: “No amount of money can compensate for my children growing up without their mother.”

She believes the true extent and cost for NHS staff and patients is likely to be much worse than current data suggests as it can take up to 50 years for disease to emerge after exposure.

Speaking to The Independent from her home in Australia, Dr Richmond, who has been told she may die as soon as July this year, described how she was exposed to asbestos at the old Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry, run by the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust between 1998 and 2004.

As well as the exposure during maintenance work on wards, she said she regularly used underground service tunnels, where asbestos-lined pipes were common, to move between areas.

Her lawyers, from law firm Leigh Day, successfully brought a claim against the hospital after a former maintenance worker responded to a public appeal and corroborated her testimony that they openly worked on ceiling tiles and asbestos materials with no safety measures.

In a statement one worker described how debris fell from the ceiling: “We had to clean it up afterwards, so I just swept up the dust. It was always busy, so we just put a couple of cones up where we were working. The doctors and nurses walked past where we were working.”

More than 20 former members of staff provided evidence of asbestos at the hospital and emails revealed managers had been warned of the risk. The court ruled there had been “serious and repeated failings”.

A decision on the amount of compensation she will receive may not be made for several months