Police have launched an investigation into the deaths of heart surgery patients at an East Yorkshire hospital.
The investigation is focusing on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures carried out on elderly and frail patients at Castle Hill hospital, near Hull.
There have been no arrests in connection with the investigation, which Humberside police said was in its “very early stages”.
A BBC investigation found concerns had been raised about the deaths of 11 patients after the procedure to replace a damaged valve in the heart.
It is a surgery used in people with heart disease who are not well enough for major heart surgery, as the heart does not need to be stopped, unlike in bypass surgery.
However it does still carry serious risk as it involves surgeons inserting an instrument with a balloon into a leg or chest artery, which is moved into position near the opening of the aortic valve. Space for new tissue is then created by inflating the balloon, which supports the heart valve.
The Humber Health Care Partnership, which runs Castle Hill through Hull university teaching hospitals NHS trust (HUTH), told the BBC that three separate reviews, conducted after concerns were raised, had found that deaths after this type of surgery at the hospital were in line with the national average.
It said families who had lost loved ones were invited to ask questions and that the trust was “happy to answer those directly”.
The spokesperson said: “Three separate external reviews of our TAVI service have been undertaken and shown that mortality rates associated with TAVI are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period.
“The Royal College of Physicians was invited to review the service in 2021, at the request of the trust’s chief medical officer. The Royal College report concluded that the TAVI service is essential for the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs to be expanded.
“It stated, however, that the design of the service should be reviewed and invested in. The report offered a number of actions for improvement and we have delivered against all of those since it was shared with us.”
A Humberside police spokesperson said: “An investigation is in the very early stages in relation to deaths following surgery at Castle Hill hospital. Inquiries are being carried out and at this time, we can confirm no arrests have been made.”
