THE States police are working closely with the Viscount to assess whether a criminal investigation is required after it emerged that the deaths of more than 30 rheumatology patients could have been linked to the treatment they received.
A progress report submitted to the Health Advisory Board yesterday revealed that 151 cases of patients who have died since 2019 have been reviewed by a specialist rheumatologist.
Of these, 37 cases were considered by a Mortality Learning Review Panel – with 33 cases referred to the Viscount. Face-to-face meetings have been held with 31 of the 33 sets of relatives or next of kin of these deceased patients.
Of the remaining two cases, one declined a meeting and the other has no contactable next of kin.
The States police are working closely with the Viscount to assess whether any criminal investigation is required.
Cases not escalated to the Viscount’s Office are being referred to the Quality and Safety Department, so that lessons learnt are integrated into the Health Department’s education and training programmes, the report said.
The next of kin of these patients will be sent a letter which confirms that their loved one’s care has been reviewed and there is no further action needed.
Relatives are also being offered a meeting with the clinical team.
The report stated that approximately 80 cases of patients who had died since 2019 were still to be reviewed, work which is “on track” to be completed by 31 March.
“However, the time required is dependent on the complexity of cases and the sensitivities of conducting the reviews in a comprehensive manner,” it continued.
The report also revealed that dedicated psychological support was being provided for all patients, relatives of deceased patients and staff.
“This includes a fast assessment and referral to a range of psychological support services, from self-help through to funded private therapy sessions, depending on the needs and preferences of the individual,” the report said.
The Health Department is also considering providing group psychological support sessions this year for the relatives of the cases referred to the Viscount to offer them the opportunity to share experiences and receive additional support.
The report also stated that “good progress” had been made in identifying rheumatology patients who died between 2013 and 2019.
However, there are concerns around collating data and records for these patients.
The report said: “This year has presented significant difficulties in obtaining accurate data due to the complexities of integrating information across multiple databases, including legacy systems.
“It is also important to acknowledge that, given the inherent challenges with the database systems, there may be patients who have inadvertently been missed through the data collection process.”
The review of patients who died between 2013 and 2019 is due to be completed during 2025.
It emerged yesterday that rheumatology patients will have until 2027 to take legal action after the HealthMinister agreed to extend the usual time limit for claims.
An investigation into the standard of care in Jersey’s rheumatology department began in January 2022 when concerns were expressed by a junior doctor.
An independent review of the department “found the standard of care to be well below what the review team would consider acceptable for a contemporary rheumatological service”.
Published at the start of 2024, the Royal College of Physicians’ report revealed a “lack of governance, not just in rheumatology but across the healthcare organisation”.
As a result, Health is conducting a review of patients who were treated by the two doctors – referred to as Dr Y and Dr Z in the damning review – from January 2019 until January 2022 and who have subsequently died.
But the department also pledged to extend the review of deaths to cover patients treated by Dr Y and Dr Z before January 2019.
