Eight “surgical site infections” have occurred since last October at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead
16:58, 15 Aug 2025Updated 17:03, 15 Aug 2025
Gateshead Health chief executive Trudie Davies and the exterior of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital(Image: Newcastle Chronicle / Gateshead Health )
Hospital bosses in Gateshead are investigating after there were eight confirmed infections reported in patients who had surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The concerns relate to trauma and orthopaedic surgery while the nature of the infections has not been made public.
Orthopaedic surgery involves operations on the wider musculo-skeletal system – including bones, ligaments, cartilage and tendons. The infections are understood to have been “deep surgical site infections” and to have been occurring at “nearly double the expected rate”.
In a board report, chief executive Trudie Davies wrote: “We have had 8 confirmed Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) in relation to patients who have received trauma and orthopaedic surgery at Gateshead.
“No obvious trends have been identified, but we remain unsatisfied at the standard of care and investigations are ongoing. A Non-Executive Director walkabout in theatres has been conducted to gather more detail.”
The report – discussed on July 30 – explained there had been eight examples of infections – which is two more than were reported at a May board meeting. At that point in late May, Ms Davies’ report said: “The Trust has reported 6 deep surgical site infections since October 2024. This is a significant increase and nearly double the expected rate of infections.
“Each case is being investigated and there are detailed action plans associated with each case. There is also a task and finish group chaired by the Director of Infection, Prevention and Control who, with the surgical division, will oversee the overarching actions that need to be taken in relation to theatre cleanliness, monitoring and management of the environment. This is a multifaceted issue and there are no clear themes identified at this point.”
This comes amid temporary changes in hospital management at the Gateshead Health NHS Trust which runs the hospital trust. As chief executive Ms Davies is supporting the North Cumbria Integrated Care board during a secondment, Dr Sean Fenwick has taken over as acting chief executive at Gateshead for the duration of the secondment.
Dr Fenwick has previously been director of operations and the deputy chief executive at the neighbouring South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust – while has also been co-chair of the North East and North Cumbria urgent and emergency care board.
Carmen Howey, group medical director for the Gateshead Health NHS Trust said: “We have seen a slight increase in surgical site infections in our trauma and orthopaedic surgery. In line with national requirements, we have reported this to the UK Health Security Agency and shared it at our public board meeting.
“We continue to carry out a thorough investigation, whilst our initial findings show no clear links between the cases, we have taken a range of actions to ensure that the risk of infection is minimised. As always, patient safety remains our highest priority.”
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