Thirteen years, one investigation: the feeding pumps that carried a safety mark they should not have had
What happened
At Manchester Crown Court on 23 September 2026, Kenneth George Harrison, aged 70, from Bolton, was sentenced after fraud convictions connected to medical devices used in UK hospitals. He received a three-year prison sentence, suspended for three years. He was also ordered to complete 175 hours of community service and 10 days of rehabilitation, and he has been disqualified from being a company director for eight years. The convictions themselves were announced in July 2026. The sentencing closes a case the MHRA first opened concerns about in 2013. The investigation was led by the MHRA's Devices Compliance Unit and ran for more than a decade. It found that a number of medical devices had been supplied carrying CE marking that was not valid. The devices included enteral feeding pumps, gastrostomy button devices and blunt fill needles. Enteral feeding pumps push liquid feed slowly and steadily into someone who cannot eat normally. Some of these pumps were used in neonatal intensive care units and special care baby units, feeding very sick newborn babies. The Crown Prosecution Service has also started confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover money from the criminal activity.
Why this matters
A CE mark is meant to be a shorthand promise. It tells a hospital that a device has been properly assessed against safety standards, so staff do not have to test everything themselves. Hospitals buy thousands of items. Nurses and doctors cannot personally verify each one. The whole system runs on that mark meaning something. When the mark is not valid, the promise is empty. As the MHRA put it, invalid marking gave healthcare providers "false assurances that the devices met the necessary safety standards". James Pound, the MHRA's Executive Director of Innovation and Compliance, said: "Healthcare professionals need to be able to trust that the medical devices they use have been properly assessed and meet the standards designed to protect patients." Sarah Place, a specialist prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the actions "were completely dishonest" and that substantial sales were made from fraudulently labelled products. It is worth saying plainly what this case is and is not. It is a case about paperwork and certification being falsified. The published account describes false assurance rather than a proven series of injuries. That is still serious, because the point of the certification is to stop harm before it happens.
What the evidence actually says
The facts here come from a criminal court and a regulator, not from a study, so the standard of proof is different from the research we usually cover. A jury and a judge have already tested this evidence. What the MHRA has described is a long chain of work: concerns first identified in 2013, an investigation pursued for more than ten years, convictions in July 2026, and sentencing in September 2026. Importantly, the MHRA did not simply wait for the court case. While the investigation was running, it took action to protect patients. That included issuing safety alerts, overseeing recalls of affected products, and instructing the company to stop supplying the devices. That sequence matters for anyone worried about devices in use today. The regulatory action came years before the sentencing did. James Pound also thanked MHRA investigators "for their dedication and persistence over many years", which is a fair description of a case that took longer than some people's entire careers in a job. One honest limit: the published material does not set out how many individual devices reached patients, or what happened to each one. We are not going to invent those numbers.
Practical advice
Most people reading this will never buy a medical device from a wholesaler. But some of us do buy equipment for ourselves or a relative, and that is where this is useful. If you buy medical equipment online, buy from a supplier you can identify. A real UK address, a real phone number, and a company you can look up on Companies House. Be wary of very low prices on items like blood pressure monitors, thermometers, nebulisers or feeding equipment. Unusually cheap medical kit is a reason to ask questions, not a bargain to hurry towards. Keep the paperwork and the box. If there is ever a recall, you will need the model and batch number. Sign up for, or occasionally check, the MHRA's alerts. They are published on GOV.UK and include device safety notices. If a device seems faulty, stop using it and report it. The Yellow Card scheme covers medical devices, not just medicines, and anyone can report. If the device is being used for someone's feeding, breathing or medication, speak to the clinical team before you change anything. Do not simply stop. And if a hospital or community team supplies your equipment, you can ask them directly where it came from. It is a completely reasonable question.
What to know
A man was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on 23 September 2026 after fraud convictions over medical devices supplied with invalid CE marking. The devices included enteral feeding pumps, some used to feed very sick newborn babies, along with gastrostomy button devices and blunt fill needles. The MHRA first identified concerns in 2013 and pursued the case for more than a decade. It issued safety alerts, oversaw recalls and stopped further supply while the investigation continued. The sentence was three years in prison, suspended for three years, with 175 hours of community service, 10 days of rehabilitation and an eight-year ban from being a company director. Confiscation proceedings have begun. The broader lesson is a quiet one: safety marks only work if someone checks them, and checking sometimes takes thirteen years. Sources: MHRA (GOV.UK), "MHRA welcomes sentencing after fraud convictions over falsely certified medical devices", 24 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-welcomes-sentencing-after-fraud-convictions-over-falsely-certified-medical-devices; MHRA (GOV.UK), "Field Safety Notices: 14 to 18 September 2026", 23 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts; MHRA, "Yellow Card scheme", accessed 26 September 2026, https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist, nurse or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are worried about a device you or a relative depends on, speak to the clinical team who supplied it before making any change.
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