Some reported cases of serious incidents or deaths of patients following treatment at private hospitals

CHPI | August 19, 2014 | Resources


BMI Mount Alvernia, Guildford

In 2012 unprofessional behaviour by more than one consultant surgeon was involved in at least one death and at least one incident involving the risk of death. The local CCG suspended referrals of NHS patients to the hospital. Read the CQC report and media coverage.

BMI Clementine Churchill Hospital, Harrow

In 2008 Mr R H Patel died in an NHS hospital two days after suffering a heart attack while a patient at the Clementine Churchill hospital. A blood test was ordered but not carried out for four hours and although the result showed that Mr Patel needed emergency care the information was not passed on to the resident doctor or the consultant. Read media coverage.

In 2010 Mr David Hughes died of a ruptured bowel following a knee replacement operation. The RMO failed to detect his deterioration and delayed notifying the consultant. When the consultant was notified he contacted a general surgeon who took over the case but delayed operating on Mr Hughes until his condition had become too serious and he died soon afterwards. Read media coverage.

BMI The Shelburne Hospital, High Wycombe

In 2010 following surgery at the Shelburne Hospital Mr Michael Walsh died in an NHS hospital. He had become agitated and fell from the balcony of his room at the Shelburne and died two days later. An inquest found that he had been inadequately monitored and the balcony door should have been locked. Read media coverage.

CircleReading Hospital, Reading

In 2012 Mrs Linda Ray died in an NHS hospital two days after suffering anaphylactic shock and a heart attack following hip replacement surgery at the Circle Reading hospital. A contributory factor was a shortage of noradrenaline, which was eventually procured from another hospital, but too late. Read media coverage.

Spire Parkway, Solihull and Spire Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield

An NHS consultant, Ian Paterson, performed incomplete or unnecessary breast cancer surgery from 1993 to 2012, risking the lives of up to several hundred women, and performed colonoscopies which he was not authorised to perform at his NHS trust. Although Mr Paterson ‘continually breached Spire’s practising privileges policy’ no action was taken; Spire was informed in 2007 about the NHS trust’s concerns about Mr Paterson’s work which eventually led to his suspension by the GMC in 2012. Read the review and media coverage.

Spire Wellesley, Southend

In June 2014 the Care Quality Commission reported that in addition to a recent rise in blood clots following routine surgery at the Spire Wellesley, in the previous 12 months three patients had had the wrong joint replaced, and that in spite of the ‘significant severity’ of these cases ‘a clear “lessons learnt” structure was not in place’. Read the CQC report.

HCA’s Portland Hospital, London

In 1999 Mrs Laura Touche died in intensive care at an NHS hospital 9 days after giving birth to twins by caesarean section in the Portland Hospital, where an agency nurse had failed to monitor her condition immediately after the delivery. Read media coverage.

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