Following my post on 3 March 2016, regarding the awaited review of heart surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, the report has now been published and notes a shocking number of problems with the organisation, training and culture of the heart surgery service.
Inspectors found a series of issues at the hospital such as: • Staff described a bullying and blame culture in operating theatres and critical care. They found it difficult to raise concerns or challenge poor performance and behaviours. They did not always report incidents. • Trainee surgical doctors were not always supervised by a consultant in theatres despite needing it. • There were difficulties finding consultants when things went wrong in operations. • Some operations took longer than expected and patients were on cardiopulmonary bypass for long periods.
