NHS reports link 312 deaths to medical device incidents over two years

NHS safety reports in England linked 312 patient deaths to medical devices or equipment incidents across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. The cases include equipment failures and human errors, raising concerns about the reliability, maintenance and use of devices in urgent care.

Examples included defibrillators with dead batteries, resuscitation bags missing parts, a shut oxygen-mask valve and a failed emergency bleep system. The database does not establish whether equipment directly caused each death; NHS clinicians review reports of death or severe harm. Separately, NHS Resolution recorded five compensation payouts last year for deaths linked to faulty equipment, totalling £254,500.