A Brighton hospital which is being investigated for alleged cases of medical negligence has admitted failings of care for a patient who died in 2019, a law firm said.
The family of Ralph Sims are urging the trust that runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital to improve patient safety after his “unnecessary” death.
Mr Sims suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure and irregular heart rhythm about eight hours after heart surgery, caused by a blood clot that reduced blood flow to his heart.
An internal NHS investigation seen by medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell revealed that hospital staff failed to “recognise the significance of the fall in blood pressure”.
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex, accepted that the 65-year-old should have been taken back to the operating theatre.
But medics instead observed the father-of-three overnight and did not refer the case to an on-call cardiology consultant, contrary to the unit’s policy.
When Mr Sims had an x-ray to check his blood vessels more than 12 hours later, lawyers said that he had suffered “irreversible, and otherwise avoidable, heart muscle damage”.
The marathon runner was in intensive care for two weeks before being transferred to a unit for a heart transplant – but he was too ill to have the surgery and died five weeks after his initial operation, on Saturday 25 May 2019.
Irwin Mitchell lawyers said that the trust had apologised to Mr Sims’s family for the failings in his care.
Thomas Riis-Bristow, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Ralph’s loved ones continue to be deeply traumatised by his death.
“Worrying failings have been admitted by the trust. Every minute counts in cardiac surgery and the longer reduced blood flow is left untreated the more damage is caused to the cardiac muscle over time.
“Tragically, in Ralph’s case, had he received adequate care, his death would have been entirely avoidable. This is the impossible reality that his family must now face.
“It’s now vital that the hospital trust learns lessons from the failings Ralph suffered to improve patient safety for others. Ralph’s family don’t want others to suffer another needless tragedy.”
Mr Sims’s family said that he was a wonderful husband and father, “adored” by all his family, and a keen runner who used his love of running to raise money for charity.
They said: “While heart surgery isn’t something minor, when he went into hospital we never imagined the events that unfolded and he’d never come home.
“Seeing him in those final weeks was so upsetting. Ralph was a genuinely kind man who didn’t deserve to suffer and die in the way he did.
“The hardest thing to try to come to terms with is that Ralph’s death should have been avoided.”
They added: “While the trust has apologised to our family, it feels hollow. Ralph’s death was entirely unnecessary and, despite the issues in his care, it took the trust several years to apologise.
“The best thing the trust can now do is to ensure guidelines and protocols are followed. The outcome could have been very different if these things had been done as they should have.”
The settlement comes as Sussex Police investigate alleged cases of medical negligence, including about 40 deaths, at the Royal Sussex from 2015 to 2021.
The claims concern alleged failings in neurosurgery and general surgery.
Claims of medical negligence were made by two consultant surgeons who lost their jobs after blowing the whistle about patient safety, according to The Guardian.
Mr Riis-Bristow added: “Upholding the highest standards of care should always be the fundamental priority for hospital trusts. Therefore, the ongoing police investigation is very concerning.
“It’s vital that families who may have concerns following this latest development also receive the care and support they may need to get through this difficult time and that the police are also allowed to carry out their investigation unhindered.”
University Hospitals Sussex said: “We have extended our condolences and apologies to the Sims family for their loss and the tremendous upset they have suffered.
“The care given to Mr Sims in 2019 was not of the standard that he and his family should have been able to expect and we are deeply sorry for that.”
They say sorry and send their condolences. That’s as good as it get from this place.
It is not an exaggeration to say this hospital is a disaster. The management is clearly not up to the job and need to be replaced immediately before more avoidable deaths occur. Law suits, avoidable deaths, police investigations, how bad does it have to get before someone gets grip.
Absolutely right. But, no one appears to be listening. They’re very busy dismissing exceptionally caring top surgeons who are whistle-blowing, whilst ignoring the need for appropriate action. The management should be jailed for these misdemeanors stretching over a decade, if not more….
This was swiftly followed by today’s revelation in the Sunday Telegraph that they were apparently using a significant number of ‘unregistered consultants’ (i. e. surgeons who have not completed all the necessary training etc to make the transition to consultant).This seems to be permitted in self-governing trusts because of a shortage of consultants, but it’s obviously far from idealt anywhere. I would suggest that over a long period those running the RSCH in particular have completely taken their eye off their priorities, which should and must be patient care at all times, in the quest to build the all singing and dancing new hospital. Heads should roll over this before the public loses every last vestige of confidence they may still have in the management of the place.
Stay safe out there. This hospital sounds like a dangerous place. Someone please get a grip before more people die unnecessarily at the hands of these incompetent people. I feel so sorry for this family and I hope the people responsible for this man’s avoidable death are made to pay for this, but sadly I don’t suppose they will.
I do emphasise, Sam, that none of us are criticising the frontline troops, most of whom seem to do their very best despite it all. However, the woeful senior management does have a great deal to answer for (not that they have answered, except to say oh dear and it’s difficult). They need to go, whether via resignation with no pay-offs or sackings by the trustee board. Start with the woeful CEO and carry on from there.
Ultimately, you think, would I want to go in that hospital (no, I most certainly wouldn’t, not for anything at all), but there isn’t any choice or alternative for many of us.
I fully appreciate it’s the management of this place that need to be in the dock. I was unfortunate to experience this place at first hand. The medical staff were doing a wonderful job and everything they could under extremely difficult conditions. A&E was like a war zone, not a manager in sight.
No different now to what it was like there 30 years ago or even 40 years ago with Maternity services
I could say much more!