A health boss has criticised the standards of care at a hospital
where four babies died.
Dr Geoffrey Harris said the standards at John Radcliffe Hospital
in Oxford were "not what was expected".
His comments came as a major report on children's heart surgery
said the
paediatric heart surgery unit at the hospital should remain
suspended until arrangements are made for improving care.
paediatric
Surgery was suspended when four babies died between last
December and February after being treated by the same surgeon.
An investigation was launched by the NHS South Central strategic
health authority (SHA) following the deaths.
Its chairman, Dr Harris, apologised to the families of those
babies who died. He said: "We offer our sincere condolences and we
apologise that, in the cases, the standards of care were not what
was expected."
Surgeon Caner Salih, who operated on the four babies, is said to
have complained about the age of equipment and poor working
practices at the paediatric care unit, asking for operations to
cease. The report does not criticise his care. All four baby deaths
occurred under Mr Salih's care shortly after his appointment at the
unit.
The report included a review of death rates, and found that
among 15 patients operated on by the new surgeon, the death rate
was 4.8 times higher than would be expected from a national rate.
But the panel noted "all the cases were complex and surgery was
high risk".