Detectives are trying to work out whether patient deaths at the Royal Sussex County Hospital were the result of individual or even corporate manslaughter.
Sussex Police said: “The potential offences being investigated are manslaughter by gross negligence and corporate manslaughter by gross negligence.”
Earlier this week, the Guardian said: “Sussex Police are investigating a growing number of cases of alleged cover up and avoidable harm, including at least 40 deaths, in the general surgery and neurosurgery departments of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust.
“Operation Bramber, as it is known, is investigating alleged medical negligence and cover-up between 2015 and 2021, and has twice expanded to now include a reported 200 cases.”
A letter was sent to the NHS trust that runs the Royal Sussex earlier this week on behalf of the families of some of the patients whose treatment is under investigation.
And today (Thursday 6 February) some of those families attended a meeting of the board of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust in Worthing.
Before the meeting formally started, Philippa Slinger, who became chair of the trust last year, acknowledged members of the public who were present and, in particular, Charlotte Smart who wrote the letter about the investigation.
The chair said: “To everyone connected with Operation Bramber and who have questions they want answered, I would like to say how sorry I am.
“And I’m even more sorry that you are having to wait a considerable time while the investigation goes on.
“Unfortunately, this is outside of our control, and I can only guess how difficult that must be for you all.
“I have offered to meet with Charlotte in person and anyone she may choose to bring with her. We will of course be formally replying to the letter too.
“But I didn’t want to miss the chance to connect today – beyond just writing back. Before returning to the agenda, I once again wish to convey my deepest sympathies to you all.”
The investigation has cast something of a shadow over the trust, which runs several hospitals across Sussex, and in particular over the Royal Sussex.
With a complex police investigation under way – and likely to last some time yet – bosses have been constrained in what they can say and none has tried to minimise the gravity of the situation.
But there is also an awareness that the investigation affects two departments out of a dozen or so – and one hospital out of more than half a dozen – and over a limited time period, from 2015 to 2021.
The number of staff likely to be the focus of police inquiries is also tiny compared with the 20,000 who work for the hospital trust.
The work of the surgeons was, of course, a matter of life or death at times, with significant risks of lasting harm to surviving patients. The same could perhaps be said for senior managers and executives.
While not ignoring the police involvement, a number of bosses are also keen to provide proper reassurance to staff, patients and their families about matters such as safety and competence. Their fear is that people who need care might otherwise not have it which brings its own risks.
Police said: “The Sussex Police investigation into allegations of medical negligence at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is ongoing.
“The scope of the investigation – relating to neurosurgery and general surgery at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton between 2015 and 2021 – remains unchanged.
“A dedicated team of officers are progressing inquiries and engaging with involved patients and families to provide information and support while this is ongoing.
“Individual cases have also started to be reviewed by specialist consultant surgeons, commissioned to provide expert medical opinion. The consultants are totally independent of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and have undergone a nationally accepted vetting process.
“The medical experts will report on their findings and their evaluation will be considered alongside information obtained from our police inquiries to determine whether cases will be taken forward in the investigation and if so, which ones.
“Those that do not currently meet a criminal threshold will be withdrawn and this will be communicated to patients and families directly by the investigation team.
“Sussex Police is committed to conducting a thorough and transparent investigation. Due to the complex nature of the inquiries, this is likely to take some time to complete.
“If you have any concerns or information relating to the investigation, please contact OperationBramber@sussex.police.uk or call 101 quoting Operation Bramber. Information can also be submitted via the webpage here.”
Nisha Sharma, principal lawyer at Slater and Gordon, who is acting in several cases which form part of the police investigation, said: “The scale of Operation Bramber is astonishing and the fact that manslaughter charges are now being considered is truly shocking.
“People living in this area are reliant on this trust to deliver care to them and their families and have placed their trust in them to safeguard their health and welfare – this will be an alarming development for them to hear about.
“We are acting for growing numbers of people who have been affected by extremely poor standards of care at University Hospitals Sussex and they understandably have many questions around what happened to them and why.
“We welcome the fact the police investigation is clearly progressing at pace and hope this will help to deliver some of the answers they need and deserve.
“For anyone who has concerns over the care they have received at this trust and has yet to come forward, we would urge them to do so as a priority.
“The fact Operation Bramber has grown over the course of many months to over 200 cases helps to shed some light on the breadth of this – and we may not yet have discovered the true scale.”
My brother died due to being given a biologic injection (should never have been given in the first instance) but was still given it july 2023 despite having an infection against the trusts own policy . He died aged 58 24th aug. His death should never have happened definate cover up !!! I have a solicitor . The thing is i work for this trust . The management is toxic . The whole place run by robots .no compassion . For staff or patients
Anyone going into hospital make sure you have plenty of visitors and appoint at least two trusted friends or loved ones as Next of Kin for medical decisions. Make contact with the Patient Liaison Officer. Ask questions about your care and recovery every step of the way to ensure it is appropriate and on track. Make a point of talking to all staff who interact with you and telling your visitors what is going on so everyone knows.
It is so important to be well informed and to understand what one is looking at and dealing with healthwise. It is one of the reasons we go to school and kids need to be taught this so they understand that education is about survival. The ability to understand what people are saying and doing that impacts your life requires education and critical faculties that are well honed. Even then you may need to do battle, with skills you don’t have.
One simply cannot trust existence to unquestioningly blind faith in the powers that be who are now often defensive and constantly worried about being sued.
As the old saying goes, ‘Trust; but cut the cards’.
I agree with you that you should take a proactive approach to your own health. So many people I’ve met don’t have a single iota of understanding what their conditions are, what medications they are on, and side effects.
Furthermore, when you look at how much gets bounced back from 999 calls to lower categories, there’s an argument to be made that we should be more educated about our health.
This is truly a scary place. I simply don’t understand why a higher authority can’t get rid of the incompetent fools who supposedly manage this death trap.
Wise advice.
They scrubbed my daughters antibiotics off her chart, no questions about who did it by any other staff. We were told in icu she had died but we could still see her heart beat, she didnt flat line which means she was breathing on her own, they pulled the monitor plug out of the wall so we couldnt plug it back in. Then the first statement from the coroner was read to us over the phone, we questioned what it said & asked for a copy, never received it, it was changed to info we had given to the papers. There excuse was they didnt think she would have survived anyway. The trust and alot of the head people at the sussex need sacking without pensions for what they are doing
How terribly sad. I have no words, just deep sympathy.
It is still going on. Consultant ‘s investigating complaints about themselves on their own, absolutely no accountability. These people need to lose the attitude and treat people honestly and fairly. Aww aye and not lose your records