Tradebe Healthcare fined £300k after Swindon worker's horror accident

Tradebe Healthcare National Limited was sentenced at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, August 18, after an incident which took place at its Swindon processing centre on Elgin Industrial Estate in 2022.

One worker was left with life-changing injuries after his arm was trapped in a rotoclave machine—an industrial autoclave used to sterilise waste through steam, heat, and pressure.

The worker was nine hours into a 12-hour overnight shift when he stopped the machine and put his arm inside to remove a plastic water bottle blocking it.

A miscommunication led to another worker, who had come over to help, closing the door of the machine on the victim's arm.

CCTV footage shown to the court showed the moment his bones and veins were completely crushed, with his arm being held together only by skin.

A supervisor who rushed to turn the machine off and free the victim used his own belt as a tourniquet until the emergency services could arrive.

Stock image of a rotoclave machine, similar to the one in which the worker's arm was crushed (Image: Getty Images)

Tradebe Healthcare has now been sentenced for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all of its employees.

At the final hearing on August 18, District Judge Joanna Dickens found "systematic failings", including inadequate training and insufficient safety measures.

The company, which faced a financial loss in 2024, has now been fined £300,000.

It must also pay £18,710.36 in costs and a £190 government surcharge, leaving the total bill at £318,900.36.

"The company failed to put in measures to a recognised industry standard," said the district judge.

"The gate was open and there was no system to ensure it was closed. The emergency stop was an insufficient measure.

"Secondly, the training of those working on the machine was highly inadequate and procedures were not properly communicated."

The only training provided was informal, consisting of "watching someone else use the machines, having a go themselves and then being signed off to say they were competent."

No official documentation showing timed supervisor training could be produced in court.

Following the incident, which occurred just after 2am, the worker was rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where he remained for 18 days.

The victim was rushed to hospital in Bristol (Image: Lawrey Anstis/Getty)

He required multiple surgeries, including a vein transplant and a skin graft, and continues to suffer from severe, lasting effects.

The court heard: "Four years on, he isn't able to hold anything in his left hand and is unable to drive," the court heard.

"He said he had frequent nightmares about the incident and couldn't sleep."

Despite this, the worker remains employed by Tradebe Healthcare.

District Judge Dickens said the company’s failings were systemic and had persisted over a long period.

She added: "I find culpability to be high because of systemic flaws that occurred over a long period of time.

"I do accept that in order for the incident to take place, a number of different flaws had to occur at the same time.

"No accident had ever happened on the machine before. The company is a good local employer and had a very high level of co-operation with the Health and Safety Executive.

"There was acceptance of responsibility.

"It's a positive sign that the victim has remained in employment with them throughout and the company has done right by him in all ways since the terrible, terrible incident."

Defence lawyer Eleanor Chick asked the court to allow two years for Tradebe Healthcare to pay the hefty fine, warning that immediate payment could impact operations and employees.

The district judge rejected this request and ordered payment within a year.

Suggestions that poor systems and training were an after-effect of the Covid-19 pandemic were also outright rejected by the district judge.

Tradebe Healthcare has since introduced a range of safety improvements.

The use of the rotoclave is now classed as a "permit to work" activity, and additional training has been implemented for all such tasks.