11.02.13
Safe and sustainable approved hospital could face legal action
Bristol Children’s hospital is facing legal action from ten families, who claim that poor nursing care led to deaths or damage to their children.
Ten children were admitted with heart problems between 2008 and 2012, many of whom had complex heart problems from birth. Seven of the children have since died.
The families claim that staffing was overstretched and underskilled and are seeking legal action against the trust.
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust was investigated by the CQC in October last year following complaints. The watchdog found insufficient well-qualified nurses for the number of patients being treated and issued a warning notice requiring immediate action.
The trust reduced the number of children being admitted and in December the CQC conducted a second inspection and stated its satisfaction with the staffing arrangements.
Bristol is one of seven hospitals to keep its children’s heart surgery unit, in a national reconfiguration of care. That decision is being challenged today in a separate case brought by parents and campaigners associated with the Leeds child heart surgery unit, one of those earmarked for closure by the Safe and Sustainable review.
Bristol chief executive Robert Woolley said in a statement: “All paediatric cardiac surgery carries with it significant risk and these risks are explained to parents. Despite these risks and the complex needs of the children we care for, we have results among the best in England.
“A comparative outcomes assessment for 2000-2008 undertaken as part of a recent Safe and Sustainable review showed that the Bristol service has the third best mortality rates when mortality rates are compared between the 11 current surgical centres in England.
“Mortality figures for 2007-2010 show that the Bristol centre had a 1.6% mortality rate for surgical procedures in the under-one-year age group and 1% in the one to 15-year-old age group.”
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