Children's Hospital theatre staff to watch surgery at other hospitals

Jan 22 2009 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Post

Birmingham Children’s Hospital theatre staff are being made to watch operations at other hospitals as part of their re-training in the wake of a damning report into alleged failings, health bosses have revealed.

The Healthcare Commission is currently carrying out a formal inquiry into complaints of mismanagement and unnecessary delays affecting liver and kidney transplant, brain surgery, face deformity, vascular and interventional radiology departments at the Children’s Hospital.

Birmingham’s Health Scrutiny Committee was told that although retraining more staff had led to improvements there was now a “loss of trust” between Children’s Hospital staff and Queen Elizabeth Hospital surgeons, who sparked the inquiry.

Denise McLellan, director of commissioning for Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT), investigated the concerns raised by visiting transplant surgeons from Edgbaston’s QE hospital.

She said results of the Commission inquiry will be published next month.

This will address surgeons’ claims that there are a severe lack of beds at the hospital because of delays, putting transplant patients’ lives at risk and that theatre staff are unable to recognise surgical equipment.

They also claim incidents are not being reported and there is a lack of confidence in managers.

Ms McLellan said Children’s Hospital theatre workers had since been made to observe operations at the QE in a retraining exercise, plus theatre trays had been installed with a revised content sheet and card index.

“There were no issues identified that posed an immediate significant risk to patients but some aspects needed tidying up,” said Ms McLellan.

“In my view there has clearly been issues over the relationship between consultants at Birmingham Children’s and Queen Elizabeth hospitals and that needs to be investigated in more depth.

“There needs to be effective clinical leadership across the two trusts to ensure the relationship is rebuilt because there has been a loss of trust due to this episode.

“In the long term there also needs to be a review of region-wide paediatric services to recognise demand for surgery and see if there is enough space at the Children’s Hospital.”

The committee was told Ward 10, which was at the centre of complaints over staffing shortages, had a new ward manager and was making “credible progress” already.

Scrutiny member Coun Paulette Hamilton (Lab, Handsworth Wood) said: “There is a dispute about what the Children’s Hospital is saying and what other people are saying, so the Healthcare Commission report needs to come soon.

“If a child dies, it is one too many. This is such an important issue that it is important the truth comes out.”

The Healthcare Commission report on its findings at the hospital has been delayed due to the large numbers of staff needing to be interviewed.

The report, due in early February, may make a series of recommendations for health bosses and Children’s Hospital executives to take on board, but these will not be mandatory.

Paul O’Connor, chief executive of the Children’s Hospital, has claimed many of the complaints that surfaced were “unfounded rumours”.

He said the trust is working closely with the Healthcare Commission to put right any issues and regain confidence in the hospital.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital sees a third of a million patients a year and last year coped with an additional 10,000 outpatients consultations more than the previous year.