BMJ  2007;335:1068-1069 (24 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.39405.523553.4E

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Papworth Hospital can resume heart transplantations, says watchdog

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

England's health services watchdog, the Healthcare Commission, has said that surgeons can resume heart transplant surgery at Papworth Hospital near Cambridge.

Earlier this month the commission had suspended operations pending an investigation into the higher than expected mortality among 20 people who received heart transplants at the hospital this year (BMJ 2007;335:955, 10 Nov doi: 10.1136/bmj.39391.719329.4E).

The commission's two week review, which looked at the clinical care provided to eight patients who died and the trust's response to the deaths, concluded that there were no common factors to explain the deaths, which could not have been prevented. And there was no evidence that care had been inadequate, it said.

The selection of patients deemed suitable for surgery was "extremely rigorous," and the decision to transplant had been appropriate in all cases, said the commission.

The trust had also acted responsibly by promptly alerting the chief medical officer to . . . [Full text of this article]

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