Review into deaths of 250 heart surgery patients at ‘feud’ hospital
THE deaths of up to 250 patients who died following heart surgery at an NHS hospital are to be reviewed.
All the patients underwent surgery at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, between April 2013 and September 2018. A leaked report has previously suggested that poor relationships at the cardiac unit had contributed to death rates almost twice the national average.
The “toxic” feud escalated to the point that one surgeon said she was sent a dead animal and a decapitated doll in the post.
The review, commissioned by NHS Improvement, comes after the hospital suspended complex heart surgery last year. The trust said families of cardiac surgery patients who died during the review period will be contacted if the panel identifies “any significant concerns about their care”.
Last summer a leaked report warned that a “toxic” feud between two rival camps at the unit left staff feeling a high death rate was inevitable. The damning review, written by Mike Bewick, the former NHS England deputy medical director, found the facility had a cardiac surgery death rate of 3.7 per cent – compared with a national average of two per cent.
Prof Bewick’s review was quoted as saying: “Some felt that there was a persistent toxic atmosphere and stated that there was a ‘dark force’ in the unit.” The report said the department was riven between “two camps” exhibiting “tribal-like activity”.
Conversations with 39 members of staff revealed they were shocked by the death rate, but “most felt that poor performance was inevitable due to the pervading atmosphere”.
The review – which will take up to a year to complete – will examine the safety and quality of care of patients who died during or after cardiac surgery at St George’s between April 2013 and September 2018.
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.”