25th April 2024
Preet Kaur Gill has written to the Health Secretary after a damning report into blood cancer services at University Hospitals Birmingham Trust (UHB).
Reports today (25/04/25) have revealed that four people died due to errors in Birmingham blood cancer services, spanning from 2016 to 2023.
In 2016, a man died after having a stem cell transplant. In 2017, another patient died following chemotherapy treatment for a lymphoma. Last year, an elderly man passed away after receiving an overdose of a chemotherapy drug and a woman, aged in her 50s, died after a misdiagnosis. There have been several other more ‘near misses’.
An inquiry from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) into the Trust was commissioned following multiple reviews into the culture of the trust led by Professor Mike Bewick. These reviews highlighted serious concerns with patient safety and the bullying and harassment of staff at the Trust.
Preet Kaur Gill has written to the Health Secretary on the back of these reports to ask what the Government is doing to improve the conditions at UHB for staff and patients. Last year, the Government said it would take swift action to monitor the reviews and subsequent recommendations.
The Edgbaston MP has worked closely with the Trust in her role as Chair of the Cross-Party Reference Group, which was set up by Gill to support the reviews. She has repeatedly pressed the Trust and the Government over UHB’s failures and closely monitored progress on the implementation of the review’s recommendations.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston and Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health, said:
“I’m seriously concerned to hear that four deaths have been linked to failures in University Hospital Birmingham’s blood cancer services. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who have tragically died because of medicines mismanagement at the Trust.
“This is far from the first time that issues have been raised regarding patient safety at UHB. For over a year I have been supporting reviews into patient safety at the Trust and working with its leadership to track those changes.
“Clearly, there are still serious issues within UHB. I have written to the Secretary of State, asking what progress the Government has made to ensure UHB is a safe place for patients and staff. I will continue to hold the Trust to account until tangible change is seen across our hospitals.”