Around 200 cases believed to be part of hospital medical negligence probe

A police force investigating allegations of medical negligence at a hospital trust is believed to be looking at around 200 cases.

Sussex Police are investigating cases of patient deaths and serious injury at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton between 2015 to 2021, relating to 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, The Guardian previously reported.

Police began assessing allegations in 2023 and are currently not providing details around the case numbers during the ongoing probe.

According to the BBC, the force started looking at an initial 105 cases.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said individual cases have started to be reviewed by specialist consultant surgeons, who are independent of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex), which runs the Brighton hospital.

“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,” the spokeswoman said.

“Those that do not currently meet a criminal threshold will be withdrawn, and this will be communicated to patients and families directly by the investigation team.”

They added the process is likely to “take some time to complete” because of the complex nature of the inquiries.

A UHSussex spokeswoman said the trust is cooperating fully with Sussex Police and “will continue to do whatever we can to support them in their work.”

Irwin Mitchell medical negligence lawyer Tom Riis-Bristow, who represents families with care concerns about the trust, said: “It’s very unusual for police to investigate an NHS trust as medical negligence cases are often civil matters and not subject to criminal investigation.

“It’s clear there are significant and widespread patient safety concerns at the trust.”

Mr Riis-Bristow said it was vital for patients and families with concerns to be supported so they can receive answers and access to specialist support they may need because of previous treatment.

He added: “Ultimately, it’s hoped that investigations into the hospital trust help lead to fundamental changes to improve patient safety and avoid other patients suffering such avoidable harm in the future.”

Anyone with information or concerns is urged to contact Sussex Police quoting Operation Bramber.