Leaked letters show staff worries over patient care and targets balance at Lincolnshire hospitals
High mortality rates: Leaked letters from doctors and clinical directors detail how staff were concerned over the balance of good patient care and targets at Lincolnshire hospitals.
Leaked letters from Lincolnshire doctors and clinical directors detail how staff were concerned over the balance of good patient care and targets at hospitals in the county, and Lincoln County Hospital in particular.
The letters from 2010, leaked this week by Lincolnshire Independents, describe one consultant’s concern over a patient’s 10-hour operation being cancelled due to lack of intensive care beds.
Another letter from a consultant describes how the death of an “otherwise healthy” patient could have been avoided if already stretched staff did not have to meet targets over proper patient care, and that colleagues were refusing to put targets before patients to avoid such incidents in future.
A clinical director also wrote to then ULHT Chairman Paul Richardson to describe the difficulties in making sure patients received proper care and also making sure their team hit the right targets.
Figures by Professor Sir Brian Jarman of the independent Dr Foster Intelligence Unit, which monitors hospital performance, found that between 2009 to 2012, ULHT experienced 677 more deaths “than expected” — the second highest rate in the UK. It is yet unclear what “higher than expected” means, and also what the current investigations will entail.
A statement from ULHT said: “Our mortality figures have improved in the last year. Our SHMI continues to fall from a peak of 133 in quarter 3 2009/10.
“In the last available quarter (to June 2012), the Trust was no longer an outlier, with a quarterly SHMI of 106.28. Our HSMR figure has also shown recent improvement.
“Additionally, we have made significant improvements in all areas of patient safety, demonstrated by recent inspections carried out by the Care Quality Commission that have shown two minor concerns, compared to 14 major, moderate and minor concerns raised in 2011.”
It added: “Patient safety remains the top priority for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and this means that our focus is to provide safe, high quality care at the same time as meeting our patients’ expectations.”
‘Shocking letters’
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said: “Whilst the release of these three letters seems to fit a regrettable political agenda by the small number of ineffective independents at Lincolnshire County Council, their content is shocking and does not make pleasant reading for the senior management team at ULHT.
“I have in my time as the Member of Parliament for Lincoln, since May 2010, continually questioned the senior management team at ULHT on a plethora of issues and will continue to do so on the behalf of my constituents and all patients.
“I continue to make visits to particular wards and to discuss areas of concern with those responsible at the trust and have most recently raised some particularly detailed clinical aspects of the Lincoln hospital’s service with the new chief executive.”
‘Worst funded trust in the country’
Chris Brewis, an independent politician on the Health Scrutiny Committee at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “It is well-known that Lincolnshire’s NHS is virtually the worst funded in the entire country and our hospitals have been and continue to be under huge pressure. We cannot allow the disgraceful culture highlighted in the Mid-Staffordshire report to put Lincolnshire patients at risk.
“I am appalled that we have looked at safety before as a committee but these letters which were not made available to us at the time, suggest that we have been misled. What else is being covered up? The national mortality data shows Lincolnshire’s hospitals at the wrong end of the league table.”
Gagging order for former chief exec?
Phil Scarlet is standing as an independent in South Holland, and previously resigned from ULHT over concerns about how the current chairman runs the trust. He said: “It is shocking that ULHT spent £0.5m on gagging its former chief executive who raised concerns about safety.
“He said if you put more pressure on the system it will be dangerous for patients. This money was intended for patient care but instead it is being used to suppress around 3,000 pages of documents. How many others are there like these we have released today?
“These letters are some nine months after Walker was forced out and show the new regime at the trust putting targets before safety — just what Walker tried to stop.
“The announcement this week that ULHT are to be the subject of a mortality review demonstrates the implications for that; high death rates which are shocking. We will have to look at this very carefully; it raises seriously questions about the governance of ULHT.
“Let’s be absolutely clear the use of taxpayers’ funds to conceal wrongdoings should be regarded very seriously and could even be misconduct in public office by misuse of public funds for a cover up. When a trust spends such money on a cover up, how can we trust what they say?”
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Few people attended the second Kill the Bill protest in Lincoln on Saturday, as Extinction Rebellion activists stood alone on the High Street to campaign against a proposed policing bill that could make many protests illegal.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire gathered at Speakers’ Corner to oppose plans for the latest Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which could curtail protesting rights if passed through parliament.
Extinction Rebellion were the main representatives at the protest. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Under the proposed bill, police officers will be given greater powers to put a stop to any protests, as well as determining start and finish times for them, and controlling noise levels.
A few stopped to talk with the protestors, but most just went about their day walking down Lincoln High Street in the first weekend that non-essential shops and beer gardens reopened.
The Lincolnite spoke to one of the rebels at the protest, to find out the reasons behind the march.
They said: “This draconian bill cannot go ahead, it needs to be taken apart and re-evaluted completely.
“People have been walking past us shaking their heads, but they don’t realise that it’s their freedom we are fighting for.”
The Lincolnite photographer Steve Smailes captured some pictures from the protest.
Signs were put up by the works at Speakers’ Corner on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.
There have been 285 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and eight COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 7% drop in cases and one less death from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 32 new cases in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire.
On April 16, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported two hospitals this week so far, compared to none this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 2,596 to 4,383,732, while deaths rose by 34 to 127,225.
In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses expect COVID-19 cases to rise in our region as lockdown is eased, but are optimistic that if numbers are kept low enough, then people will be free to enjoy the summer.
Andy Fox, Deputy Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the lifting of coronavirus restrictions this week had not caused any specific concerns yet.
Since Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire has again seen a decrease in its infection rates overall, against an increase nationally.
All districts have seen a fall in their rates, except small increases in North Lincolnshire and South Holland. Lincoln has stayed the same and has the lowest rate in the region.
Boston has the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Greater Lincolnshire and is ranked 9th in the UK.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 16:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 9 to Apr 16. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
England’s R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 according to the latest data this week. This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass it on to between seven and 10 others.
The new Indian variant of the COVID virus that’s been detected in the UK has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus.
It has two new significant mutations in the spike protein that help it infect cells and evade the immune system.
People are “likely” to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer’s chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary “somewhere between six and 12 months” after the second one – and every year thereafter.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 16
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,919 cases (up 43)
41,028 in Lincolnshire (up 32)
9,275 in North Lincolnshire (up eight)
8,616 in North East Lincolnshire (up three)
2,185 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
304 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (no change)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,383,732 UK cases, 127,225 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.