Ninety deaths at NHS hospital in Brighton under investigation

The number of patient deaths being investigated as possible manslaughter at a troubled NHS hospital has more than doubled to 90, the Guardian can reveal.

- Matthew Weaver

The growing number of allegedly suspicious deaths, up from an initial 40, has forced Sussex police to ask the Home Office for extra resources in dealing with its expanding inquiry into University Hospitals Sussex (UHS), known as Operation Bramber.

It is examining allegations of medical negligence and cover-up in the general surgery and neurosurgery departments of Brighton's Royal Sussex County hospital, part of UHS, between 2015 and 2021.

There are also growing internal concerns within the trust about surgeons who continue to operate at the hospital, despite their alleged negligence being reviewed by police.

Earlier this month, a group of anaesthetists asked the trust's medical director for guidance on what to tell patients who ask about the safety of surgeons about to operate on them.

A source at the trust said: "It's a very valid question. The anaesthetists are in an awkward position of having to anaesthetise the patients before surgery with consultants under suspicion."

There have been calls to suspend some surgeons while police investigate. The source added: "I think the reason they have been allowed to continue is that the trust does not want to show they have made any mistakes."