Five deaths at hospital trust over last two years were preventable - The Stratford Observer

Five deaths at hospital trust over last two years were preventable

Stratford Editorial 24th Sep, 2018   0

FIVE deaths at South Warwickshire Foundation Trust over the past two years were preventable.

The trust recently published its ‘Learning from Deaths’ report, which revealed the deaths were a direct result of staff care provided.

The figures follow new guidance from NHS England, which urged trusts to identify, report, investigate and learn from deaths which had happened in their care.

South Warwickshire Foundation Trust (SWFT) – which runs Warwick, Stratford, Leamington and Shipston hospitals – is unable to reveal details of each incident due to patient confidentiality.




But the deaths referred to in the report took place between December 2016 and March 2018.

The trust says it is learning from those which should not have happened to ensure more do not occur.


A death in early 2016 – not actually included in the report – saw a feeding tube inserted into lungs of a woman in her 40s at the Central England Rehabilitation Unit (CERU).

It is understood the feeding tube was supposed to pass through the nose into the stomach, but was instead inserted into the lung. This lead to aspiration pneumonia – an inflammation of the lungs after they come into contact with food or liquid.

SWFT carried out an investigation following the death and referred to it as a ‘never event’ – a serious incident which should never have happened.

While the death is not one of the five which took place recently, the trust says it is learning from preventable deaths and made changes following the fatal incident.

A spokeswoman told the Observer: “The trust continually aims to improve the level of care it provides and learning from deaths is an important aspect of this.

“This involves identifying, considering and reporting any deaths that could have potentially been avoided if different actions had been taken.

“Over the last two years we have made several improvements, including the management of blood thinning drugs and nasogastric feeding, as well as the recognition and treatment of sepsis.

“Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to discuss any of the details regarding individual cases.”

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