Eighteen deaths following Tees health trusts' safety lapses

James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, is among those run by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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.

Patient safety incidents, as defined by the NHS, are any unintended or unexpected incident which could, or did, lead to harm.

Both trusts said they encouraged staff to report safety incidents.

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.

Patient safety 'paramount'

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."

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust oversees Stockton's University Hospital of North Tees

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, and the University Hospital of Hartlepool, recorded 8,446 patient safety incidents resulting in harm, of which 39 were in the severe category.

'Openness and honesty'

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham said safety incidents "were always a concern" and added it was "vitally important that these are always reported as soon as possible".

The trust's chief nurse, Lindsey Robertson, said the organisation "operates on a culture of openness and honesty".

"We actively encourage staff to report any patient safety events which may occur. This has led to an increase in overall incident reporting, which allows us to examine every incident to learn as much as possible and make positive changes."

Across all NHS trusts in England there were 689,745 incidents resulting in harm to patients - the equivalent of 1,890 every day. A total of 5,803 patients died.