Police confirm probe into heart surgery deaths at hospital

HUMBERSIDE Police are investigating the deaths of heart surgery patients at Castle Hill Hospital, it confirmed yesterday.

- By SOFIE JACKSON

The force said no arrests have been made and the investigation is in the "very early stages". Documents raised concerns about the deaths of 11 patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) surgery at the hospital in Cottingham, the BBC reports.

TAVI is a minimally invasive surgery, usually carried out under local anaesthesia. It involves inserting a new valve in the heart via a catheter inserted into the large femoral artery located in the groin.

Brian Hunter, from Grimsby, was one of the 11 patients who died. The former fisherman was aged in his eighties when he underwent the operation in October 2021.

According to the BBC, the Royal College graded Mr Hunter's care as "very poor" NHS Humber Health Partnership, which is responsible for Castle Hill Hospital, told Hull Live deaths from the procedure were "similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period".