The number of surgery deaths being looked into by police at a southern England hospital has reportedly more than doubled in a matter of weeks.
It had previously been reported that Sussex Police were investigating the deaths of around 40 people at the Sussex County Hospital over a five-year period after whistleblowers raised concerns about general surgery and neurosurgery.
But now, the ‘suspicious’ deaths between 2015 and 2021 have more than doubled to 90 with the police force requiring extra resources from the Home Office in order to further their investigation into University Hospitals Sussex, the Guardian has revealed.
Specifically, Sussex Police are looking into allegations of medical negligence and cover-up at Brighton’s Royal Sussex County hospital, part of one of the largest NHS trusts in the south-east of England.
As well as the 90 cases of manslaughter, Sussex Police are investigating more than 100 cases of serious harm having taken almost 150 statements and produced 550 reports in their investigation.
In further causes for concern, just five of the 12 surgeons capable of performing emergency surgery at the hospital are on the General Medical Council’s specialist register – which is required for a consultant’s post.
‘If you have one or two surgeons who are not on the register you can cope, but having a majority not on the register is unheard of because of the level of training and expertise required,’ a source said.
According to the paper, an unnamed surgeon who is not on the aforementioned register, was responsible for a shocking incident where a medical specimen beg and the removed part of a bowel were left inside a patient who had undergone a hernia operation.
The UHS had previously been ranked among the five worst trusts in the country, having the highest number of patients waiting a year and a half for care and a number of worrying inspection reports.
Sussex Police, however, refused to comment on the number, 90, of cases which they are looking into.
‘This is an active and ongoing investigation and we will not be providing specific details around case numbers at this time,’ a spokesperson said.
‘The medical experts will report on their findings and their evaluation will be considered alongside information obtained from our police inquiries to determine whether cases will be taken forward in the investigation, and if so which ones.
‘Those that do not currently meet a criminal threshold will be withdrawn, and this will be communicated to patients and families directly by the investigation team.’
Katie Urch, UHS’s chief medical officer, insisted that the surgeons in-question are ‘highly-skilled’ and ‘qualified’ to carry out surgery.
‘Our teams are subject to rigorous scrutiny, and we actively encourage colleagues to speak up and take action if they believe we could ever do more to protect and care for our patients,’ she said.
Previously it had been reported that two surgeons at UHS who raised concerns about medical negligence had lost their jobs due to whistleblowing.
Krishna Singh, former clinical director for surgery at the hospital, claimed he lost his post after raising the alarm about several of the deaths.
Mr Singh alleged cost-cutting exercises ‘were driven through that were grossly unsafe and ultimately drove up complication rates and patient mortality’.
He further alleged that surgeons had been promoted before they were sufficiently competent and that locums lacking the necessary skills were ‘overused’.
Both whistleblowers claimed the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths, which took place between 2015 and 2020, and learn from mistakes made.
A report published on May 24, 2024, saw the trust’s rating downgraded with a ‘requires improvement’ rating issued for patient safety.
UHS are said to be ‘fully co-operating’ with police.
It comes after an investigation was launched into baby deaths at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2023.
Dozens of babies died or were left with serious injuries in maternity units at the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital.
Bereaved parents then faced a battle for answers from the hospital which they accused of lacking transparency.
Nottingham has accepted its maternity services were unsafe and has paid almost £90million in compensation.
The claims related to dozens of deaths, stillbirths and 46 cases of babies left brain damaged after mistakes.