Eighteen deaths following Tees health trusts' safety lapses

Eighteen people died at two Teesside hospital trusts following patient safety lapses over a 12-month period.

Sixteen such deaths were recorded at the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with two at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

Examples of patient safety lapses include a failure to provide or monitor care, a breakdown in communication, an out-of-control infection in a hospital, insufficient staffing or a missed diagnosis.

NHS England figures show that, between April 2021 and March this year, there were 16,557 incidents at the South Tees Trust, which operates James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, and Northallerton's Friarage Hospital. Thirty-four resulted in "severe" harm.

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the figures were a concern and that he planned to take them up with the South Tees Trust's chief executive.

He said NHS staff worked under "the most demanding of conditions" but added: "Every person going into hospital rightly expects to receive the best treatment. Patient safety is paramount and no family wants to see a loved one suffer."

Dr Mike Stewart, the trust's chief medical officer, said: "We encourage an open and transparent culture and promote the reporting of all patient safety incidents, even when there is uncertainty over a direct link between any problems in care and incidents of severe harm or death.

"In the last year there were no deaths graded as definitely preventable due to a problem in the care delivered by the trust.

"While our reporting has increased consistently over the last three years, the number of serious incidents has not risen, which is strong evidence of a positive safety culture."

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Source: BBC News, 30 October 2022