Police are investigating about 40 hospital deaths over allegations of medical negligence made by two consultant surgeons who lost their jobs after blowing the whistle about patient safety.
The allegedly botched operations took place at Royal Sussex County hospital (RSCH) in Brighton, part of University hospital Sussex NHS trust, when it was run by a management team hailed by Jeremy Hunt as the best in the NHS.
Last week, detectives from Sussex police wrote to the trust’s chief executive, George Findlay, confirming they had launched a formal investigation into “a number of deaths” at the RSCH. They were investigating allegations of “criminal culpability through medical negligence” made by “two separate clinical consultants” at the trust, the letter said.
Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital
It is understood about 40 deaths occurred between 2015 and 2020 after alleged errors in general surgery and neurosurgery departments. Both whistleblowers alleged the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths and learn from the mistakes made.
One of the whistleblowers, Krishna Singh, an eminent surgeon, claimed he lost his post as the trust’s clinical director after raising concerns about patient safety, citing some of the deaths now under investigation.
Employment tribunal documents show that he claimed that cost-saving changes at the hospital “were driven through that were grossly unsafe and ultimately drove up complication rates and patient mortality”. Singh claimed the trust had promoted insufficiently competent surgeons and overused insufficiently skilled locums.
Police Launch Investigation Into Dozens Of Deaths At Brighton Hospital
Explaining the decision in a statement released on Friday, the judge, Daniel Dyal, said: “The police investigation overlaps significantly with the patient safety and mortality issues about which there is a lot of evidence in this case.”
Dyal revealed that it was the West Sussex coroner who had first reported allegations about the deaths to the police in April.
He said the police investigation could lead to “charges of serious offences including, perhaps, gross negligence manslaughter”. Witnesses from the trust, including two senior clinicians, risked “prejudicing their position in future criminal proceedings” if they gave evidence at the tribunal, he said.
Dozens Of Deaths At Royal Sussex County Hospital In Brighton Investigated
The statement said the trust accepted that Singh’s whistleblowing was a so-called public interest disclosure and it denied that this was why he lost his role as clinical director.
The other whistleblower is understood to be Mansoor Foroughi, a consultant neurosurgeon, who was sacked by the trust in December 2021 after he raised concerns about 19 deaths and 23 cases of serious patient harm in the previous six years.
A disciplinary hearing chaired by Findlay said Foroughi was dismissed because he had acted in bad faith. Foroughi’s concerns were set out to the trust in a 70-page dossier seen by the Guardian that details “worrying cases of mortality and permanent severe morbidity”. At least two of the deaths followed procedures by a surgeon who soon afterwards was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the Guardian understands.
Brighton Hospital: Third Of Covid Deaths Likely Infected On Wards
Last year, the British Medical Association, which is supporting Foroughi, wrote to the trust’s then chief executive, Marianne Griffiths, to protest at his treatment. The letter, from the then chair of the BMA, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said Foroughi’s dismissal was “shocking” and demanded his reinstatement.
Nagpaul said Foroughi was raising concerns about “unsafe surgical practices, specific instances of poor outcomes including patient mortality, a climate of fear and blame and inadequate governance processes”.
Nagpaul questioned the role of Findlay, who was then deputy chief executive at the trust, in Foroughi’s treatment. The letter said: “We believe the decision to dismiss Mr Foroughi was entirely disproportionate and unreasonable. And all at a time when NHS whistleblowers face abhorrent treatment for raising legitimate concerns.”
Paediatrics Nursing Jobs In Brighton
In reply, Griffiths said she could not comment on the reasons for Foroughi’s dismissal because he was pursuing legal action against his treatment. She conceded he had an“unblemished record”.
Hunt, the former health secretary, praised Griffiths and Findlay in his book Zero, published last year. He wrote: “Working closely with her medical director, George Findlay … Marianne built perhaps the best learning culture I saw anywhere in the NHS. As George Findlay described it, it is leadership with ‘big eyes, big ears and small mouth’.”
Griffiths, who was made a dame in 2018, retired as chief executive of the trust in 2022. She is currently chairing a review of allegations of a cover-up of medical errors at North East ambulance service.
Exclusive: Nhse Aware Of Concerns Over Surgery Nearly Three Years Before Suspension
Last month the hospital regulator, the Care Quality Commission, called for rapid widespread improvement at the trust after finding that staff felt pressured into making unsafe decisions.
The trust said: “The trust has been contacted by Sussex police as part of their inquiries relating to the care of a number of general surgery and neurosurgery patients at the Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton between 2015 and 2020.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage other than to confirm that we are cooperating fully to ensure the concerns raised are investigated.”
Police Investigate 40 Deaths At Brighton Hospital
A statement from Sussex police said: “Sussex police has received allegations of medical negligence at the Royal Sussex County hospital, Brighton, and is currently assessing these allegations. The concerns raised relate to neurosurgery and general surgery in a period between 2015 and 2020.
“Enquiries are at an early stage and this does not necessarily mean this will lead to criminal prosecution. We are working closely with partner agencies and the hospital trust is cooperating fully with our review.”
Dr Latifa Patel, the BMA’s representative body chair, said: “When doctors see patients coming to harm, they need to be able to speak up free from any fear of repercussions, and confident that action will be taken and changes made to protect patients in the future.
Hca Nursing Jobs In Brighton
“We’ve heard with great concern the appalling treatment of these doctors after raising patient safety concerns at the trust, and continue to offer them our wholehearted support. In an NHS still intoxicated with a culture of blame, whistleblowers need to be listened to and protected, not silenced and scapegoated.”Our porters, housekeepers, caterers, engineers, reception, security and transport teams are the backbone of our hospitals. Give back to your local community by helping your local hospitals improve the experience for our patients.
As one of our key support services, facilities and estates is responsible for the smooth running of our hospitals. The teams work in areas such astransport, catering, portering, domestic, reception, switchboard, car parking and security. And they play an important part in patient experience making sure our services work effectively all day, every day for our patients.
The commitment and dedication of all our facilities and estates staff was seen throughout the pandemic. Teams often took on additional tasks to change the use of spaces and get areas ready to support changes in use and more patients. So much so, that our estates teams were crowned Governors’ Award Winners at the annual Patient First STAR Awards for their outstanding efforts throughout the pandemic.
Police Probe Into Around 40 Deaths At Royal Sussex County Hospital In Brighton
Our Estates teams provide maintenance, repair, improvement and engineering support across the Trust. Their work takes them to all corners of our sites to ensure a safe and pleasant environment for all our staff and patients.
Alan is a Mechanical Engineer at Southlands Hospital and is part of the emergency on call engineer team for Worthing and Southlands Hospital.
He says: “I enjoy making sure everyone is happy so that they can all do their jobs in a good fashion, which helps them do a better job for patients. That’s why we are here – patients first.”
Redevelopment Of £420m Brighton Hospital Starts
Domestic services ensure our hospitals are kept clean and remain a safe environment to work in by helping to prevent the risk and spread of infection.
Barry has worked in housekeeping at Worthing Hospital for eight years and is part of a team that helps maintain a healthy, clean, orderly, safe and pleasant environment.
“The best thing about the role is the patients. They don’t want to be there but you can reassure them and communicate with them. You meet some really lovely people.”
Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals Nhs Trust
She says: “I love how versatile the role is. You are never bored and the time flies. There is so much to do but everyone is on board”.
“Patients are here because they need to be, it’s not out of choice. We are providing a service on a daily basis to make them feel comfortable in their environment.”
With 250 housekeeping staff at our Brighton sites, Housekeeping Manager Antoinette is responsible for liaising across multiple departments to make sure her staff are in the right place at the right time.
Maple Installing High Performance Weather Louvres At Brighton Hospital
Antoinette says: “We help to make our hospitals safe for all our patients. I love working for a large organisation with a shared goal, which is ensuring the patient experience is the best it can be. Patients really revel in engagement between them and our staff.”
Food and nutrition plays a vital part of a patient’s recovery and overall care experience. Effective catering depends on a number of elements including menu planning, procurement, food production and distribution.
Sonnur works as an Administrative Assistant Apprentice and supports the catering department at our Brighton Hospitals. An important part of her role is collating and collecting compliance packs to ensure a sufficient, high quality catering service. These include temperature checks, recording food wastage and cleaning checks to name a few.
Brighton Hospital Helipad Delayed Again
Porters play an essential role in transporting people, equipment and
