Hospital reviews more than 200 lung disease cases

More than 200 patients have had their lung disease treatment reviewed following concerns their care at a Surrey hospital did not meet best practice guidance, a board report said.

A review by the Royal College of Physicians will look at whether treatment of some patients at Epsom and St Helier Hospital Trust led to harm, and "if so, to determine the degree of harm", board papers said.

The issues relate to the treatment of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) under the care of one consultant between 2019 and 2023, with issues first raised five years ago.

A hospital spokesperson apologised for the care received by some patients "falling short of what it should have been" and said action had been taken to make sure it could not happen again.

A report by Richard Jennings, group chief medical officer, said: "In retrospect it is clear that these concerns were not sufficiently looked into at the time they were first raised in 2019."

It added that concerns had been "raised through a number of avenues" indicating "possible departures from recognised best practice" that may have led to harm "as a result of patients not receiving disease modifying treatment in a timely way".

ILDs are a "broad spectrum of conditions", the report said, characterised by inflammation or fibrosis in the lungs, leading to lowering oxygen levels.

They are "chronic, progressive conditions which can be difficult to diagnose and require collaborative expertise" and the majority of patients concerned were diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the report said.

A hospital review of the notes of 1,608 patients, many of them on paper rather than electronic, identified those with ILD and among them 216 who had care that "in some way did not meet best practice guidance".

Of the patients affected, 91 had died, and 125 were still alive.

Concerns were raised around a lack of investigation in 20% of cases, lack of referral to a specialist ILD multidisciplinary team meeting in 42% of cases, no treatment in 30% of cases and inappropriate treatment in 9%.

Affected patients, except two the trust had not been able to contact, had now been seen and necessary changes or corrections to their treatment had been started.

Dr Jennings said in a statement: "We are sorry that the care received by some of our patients with ILD fell short of what it should have been when a doctor did not keep up with evolving national best practice guidelines."

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, and on X. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.