A nurse has been awarded £11,000 in compensation after tearing his wrist on a Victorian window at St Helier Hospital.

Mr Amankwa, 43, from Sutton, pushed his hand through a glass pane while opening the rotting toilet window for a patient in 2002.

As a result he was off work for four weeks, needed surgery on his wrist tendons and must still undergo physiotherapy.

Unison, the public sector union, helped him secure a split liability agreement with Epsom and St Helier NHS trust.

The ward at St Helier has since been modernised and new windows have been fitted.

Mr Amankwa said: “I never thought opening a window could cause such an injury.

"The window was old and the window pane rotten, but I only found out when it was too late.

“The accident has affected my fingers and I still get pain and swelling in my arm.

"I decided to take action, as a matter of principle, as I felt strongly that those windows should have been replaced many years ago.”

Steve Brazier, head of health for Unison in the southeast, said: “The damages go some way towards Mr Amankwa’s loss, but he has still suffered at the hands of the hospital.

“Over the years there has been record investment in NHS buildings. However, there are still hundreds of Unison members working in buildings that need refurbishment.”