Police investigate heart deaths at NHS hospital

Police have launched an investigation into the deaths of patients following heart operations at an NHS hospital, the BBC has learned.

Documents seen suggest patients suffered avoidable harm - and that in some cases their death certificates failed to disclose that the procedure contributed to their deaths.

One woman's operation at Castle Hill Hospital near Hull - that should have taken no more than two hours - has been described as a "disaster" by one medic.

She spent six hours in surgery and lost five litres of blood - all while under local anesthetic.

But none of this was mentioned on her death certificate, which recorded her as dying from pneumonia. Her family were also not told what had happened.

The documents raise concerns about the care that 11 patients received during a TAVI - Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant - a procedure to replace a damaged valve in the heart, similar to adding a stent.

The department's TAVI mortality rate at the time was three times higher than the UK average, something patients and families were also unaware of.

The NHS body that runs Castle Hill, the Humber Health Care Partnership, told the BBC it had delivered improvements suggested by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). In a statement, it said it was happy to directly answer any questions from the patients' families.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 4 June 2025