Mid Yorkshire hospital chiefs meet with families over Covid infection deaths

Health chiefs have met with 50 families, all of whom lost loved ones after they became infected with Covid in hospital.
Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.
Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

A total of 187 patients are thought to have died in Pinderfields and Dewsbury Hospitals after contracting the virus there, it was revealed in July. All had been in hospital with unrelated problems.

However it's not known yet exactly how many of those died because of Covid, as opposed to dying with Covid.

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The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs both sites, has started meeting the relatives of some of those patients under duty of candour processes, which require them to offer an explanation.

The patients concerned contracted Covid in hospital, having gone in with other conditions.The patients concerned contracted Covid in hospital, having gone in with other conditions.
The patients concerned contracted Covid in hospital, having gone in with other conditions.

In July, the trust said there was no evidence as yet of any negligence on its behalf, citing specific guidance it received from NHS England during the height of the pandemic last winter.

It's understood a small number of compensation enquiries against the trust have been made.

A trust board meeting on Thursday was told that hospital directors had met 50 of the affected families to discuss the deaths of their relatives in person.

New trust chief executive, Len Richards, told the board the organisation was committed to being "open and transparent" over the matter.

Local Democracy Reporting Service