23-07-2025
Castle Hill Hospital faces legal action over seven TAVI heart operation deaths
Seven families are taking legal action against a hospital over the deaths of loved ones after routine heart operations.
Humberside Police said last month it was investigating a number of deaths linked to transcatheter aortic valve implantations (TAVIs), at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Solicitors say the families all experienced surgery "not being fully explained" and "a lack of transparency" from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The families say they only learned of wider concerns about the procedures following media reports.
Stuart Fields' mother Barbara, 76, suffered a stroke after having a TAVI and died three days later.
He said doctors claimed the operation had been a "success because they believe it went well".
He added: "The fact my mother had a stroke 10 minutes after waking up, and died three days later, seems irrelevant to them. They are in denial.
"Their narrative completely changed from before the procedure to what they were saying afterwards. Before we were told it was being done to improve her quality of life and extend her life.
"After she'd died their narrative was that she'd have died after six months anyway without the procedure. The attitude has been appalling."
Mr Fields said the family had been denied access to statistics on injury and death rates related to TAVI procedures.
'It was only when the recent story broke in the press about the police investigating deaths, and that thedeath rate at one stage being three times higher than the national average, that we knew more than ushad been affected," he said. "We always suspected so.'
TAVI is a heart valve treatment designed for people with heart disease who are not considered well enough for major surgery.
During the procedure, a catheter with a balloon on the tip is inserted into an artery in either the upper leg or the chest, which is then passed into the heart and positioned near the opening of the aortic value.
The balloon is then inflated, creating space for a new tissue value which is put in position and expanded.
TAVI puts less strain on the body as the heart does not need to be stopped and placed on bypass but is also recognised to carry a significant risk.
Hudgell Solicitors is representing the families involved.
The firm said cases being investigated date back to 2019, when TAVI procedures were introduced at the hospital, and involve patients aged 75 to 87.
The most recent was August last year, five months after the trust was presented with the findings of a 2023 Royal College of Physicians (RCP) review into 11 deaths following TAVI procedures.
The review identified poor levels of care in six cases, one of which was described as "very poor".
Solicitor Neil Hudgell said: 'The time has come for full transparency and proper accountability.
'We are now putting the next steps in motion towards achieving that by requesting full medical recordsof the patients whose families have come to us seeking answers around their treatment at Castle HillHospital and their subsequent deaths, and putting the trust on notice of intended legal action.
"Over recent weeks we have met and spoken at length with seven families who all tell a similar story ofthe risks and outcomes of surgery not being fully explained to them, and then a lack of transparency andclarity after their loved ones had passed.
"They are quite simply furious with the trust and they want answers."
The hospital trust has been approached for comment.
In a statement last month NHS Humber Health Partnership said families who had lost loved ones following TAVI treatment had been invited to discuss the cases.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regional Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the Royal College of Physicians remained "confident" in Castle Hill's service, they said.
