Unpublished hospital patient safety reports exposed

Serious patient safety issues are being buried in confidential hospital reports, BBC Panorama has found.

Freedom of Information requests revealed 111 reports, written by medical royal colleges, which NHS trusts have a duty to share. Eighty reports were given to the BBC but only 26 had been shared in full with regulators, and 16 published.

The Department of Health would not comment on whether it might change the law to ensure publication.

Since the 2015 Morecambe Bay maternity scandal in which 11 babies and a mother died, NHS Trusts are supposed to publish summaries of external reviews, and share them with the regulator.

An earlier review into the hospital had previously identified concerns but had not been made public.

Dr Bill Kirkup, who led a 2015 investigation into the Morecambe Bay scandal, said Panorama's findings were a "great disappointment".

"People should know that there is something that is important enough to be looked at and they should know what the results of that scrutiny are. I can't understand what the rationale would be for withholding the existence of a report or the findings of the report. These are important matters of accountability in the public service."

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Source: BBC News, 19 May 2021