Behaviour of some heart surgeons 'appalling', says minister

A report detailing a culture of poor behaviour by some heart surgeons at Northern Ireland's cardiac surgery unit is "appalling", Stormont's health minister has said.

The paper, first reported by UTV, raised serious concerns within the unit and said the issues had led to a "significant risk to patient safety".

On Tuesday, Mike Nesbitt said there had clearly been a "bad breakdown in relationships" among senior members of the team and that the report's findings were "entirely unacceptable".

In a statement, the Belfast Trust acknowledges that "staff have felt hurt and unable to speak out" and said it is "committed to making changes which we have begun implementing".

The independent inspectors were brought in last December to review the cardiac surgery unit.

The unit, which is based at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, is a regional service for patients across Northern Ireland.

Almost 1,000 operations are carried out by the trust's cardiac surgery unit every year.

DUP Upper Bann assembly member (MLA) Diane Dodds said the report had shown a "litany of problems".

She said at one point, an operation had to be cancelled because of "interpersonal differences in theatre" between surgical staff, and that relations had broken down so badly that four surgeons were working from home.

The report also found in one dispute staff said they feared violence would break out between colleagues putting patients at risk.

Over 70 staff who spoke to the review as whistle-blowers said some acted inappropriately in dealing with issues.

Nesbitt told the assembly that he plans to meet the chair of the Belfast Trust to assess why the issues had been allowed to go on for so long.

He also said he expected to see meaningful change as a result of the review.

"I have never come across anything like this in my first year in post... it is rare but it's incredibly important and it is a very worrying time," said the minister.

Foyle SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin said her son-in-law is waiting for open heart surgery and that she was "flabbergasted" at the contents of the report.

Nesbitt told the assembly that he was unaware of any resulting disciplinaries from the review but he would follow up when he meets the Belfast Trust.

A spokesperson for the Belfast Trust said it is "appalled by the staff experiences described" in the review.

"While we are reassured that the cardiac surgery service remains clinically safe with excellent outcomes, we accept that there have been behaviours which, at times, have made for an intolerable working environment.

"However we accept that behaviours must change.

"We owe it to our staff and the patients they care for to get this right. Belfast Trust has accepted the recommendations of the independent external review and is working swiftly to take these forward."