54 patient deaths investigated at Dudley hospital

It was recently announced that Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley is currently being investigated in relation to the deaths of 54 patients in their A&E department within the first six months of this year.

The inquiry to establish the circumstances of the deaths has been opened by Mike Bewick, former deputy chief executive of NHS England.

The Care Quality Commission has already rated the department inadequate, meaning that it under close examination and is being forced to improve.

The hospital first came under scrutiny following concerns raised in relation to the A&E department’s failure to spot the deadly sepsis infection.

During an inspection to the department by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year, staff there voiced their concerns that they would not wish their relatives to be treated there for fear they would die.

The Dudley Group NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, at the time claimed it had the lowest mortality rate in the area. It’s chief executive Diane Wake, said that early reports suggested that many of the patients who lost their lives had already died by the time they reached the hospital.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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