Brain op patients at Birmingham NHS trust suffered unnecessarily

Patients who underwent brain operations at a West Midlands NHS trust suffered unnecessarily because of poor surgical outcomes, a report has found.

More than 150 deep brain stimulation surgery cases at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) trust are now being investigated and surgery is suspended.

There were unacceptable delays responding to patient concerns, the independent review also said.

The investigation recommended indefinitely suspending the service at the NHS trust until it is safer.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders is used on patients with conditions including Parkinson's disease and dystonia, where medication is becoming less effective.

The independent review, carried out by medics from King's College Hospital, was ordered by UHB after a serious incident investigation of a patient who underwent DBS for Parkinson's disease.

One of those 21 people, Keith Bastable, 74, from Brierley Hill, had DBS in May 2019 for his Parkinson's disease and the review found his probes were placed too far away to be acceptable.

Due to the misplacement, one was never switched on and the other probe had to be switched off as he suffered slurred speech and other side effects.

They were removed and new ones recently reinserted in Oxford after he was referred to a hospital trust there.

Mr Bastable said he had felt abandoned in the time it had taken to get resolved.

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Source: BBC News, 29 November 2022