24.01.19
Mortality review to be held into 250 deaths at crisis-hit London heart surgery
Experts are investigating the deaths of up to 250 patients who underwent heart surgery at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after inspectors found “feuding surgeons” and a culture of hostility at the cardiac unit.
The mortality review into St George’s has been commissioned by NHS Improvement (NHSI), with a panel of independent cardiac surgery, cardiology, and anaesthetic consultants into the death of patients who died following cardiac surgery between April 2013 and September 2018.
The panel is reviewing the deaths of all patients in this timeframe after the trust was found to have a statistically higher mortality rate compared to the 31 other cardiac surgery centres in the UK, nearly double the average of 2%.
In December, the CQC delivered a devastating report on the London trust’s cardiac unit after finding weak leadership, a culture of bullying, and tribalism following a leaked document revealing that a “toxic” row between surgeons had contributed to a higher-than-average death rate.
The CQC were told by staff that the cardiac surgical team “had not worked effectively for several years” and described a “culture of bullying and harassment,” with the reviewing finding that the unit had split into two camps displaying “tribal-like activity.”
NHSI has ordered the probe in order to ensure St George’s is offering heart patients safe care, and the panel will examine the safety and quality of care provided by the trust during the review period.
It will review the medical records of deceased cardiac surgery patients, and is likely to review 200 to 250 deaths during a six to 12-month project.
The trust has insisted the cardiac surgery practice is safe at St George’s despite 100s of the more complex cases being moved to other London hospitals, stating that it has been introducing improvements to its cardiac surgery practice since April 2017 and is overseen by a separate, external oversight panel convened by NHSI last year.
Jacqueline Totterdell, chief executive at St George’s, said: “It is absolutely essential that patients and their families have full confidence in the care our cardiac surgery team provide – and this review of past deaths will be a key part of that process.”