- This page is to help you understand what the clinical review is
- It is for patients and their families whose care will be included in the clinical review
- It explains how the review of your clinical care will happen, and when you will hear from us
- You can get in touch with your case worker by phone or text on 07719 407 210 on Mondays – Fridays between 9 am and 4 pm. You can email our fmaily liaison team anytime. We want to hear from you.
Why is this review taking place?
We had concerns about the practice of Ms Stohr, a trauma and orthopaedic consultant who specialises in treating children. We asked Mr James Hunter, the National Clinical Lead for Trauma and Orthopaedics, to review 55 patients who had been operated on by Ms Stohr.
Mr Hunter told us that the care we provided to some patients was not as good as it should have been. This is why the care of a bigger group of patients is being looked at which includes you or your child. This is what we mean by using the words ‘clinical review’.
What is the purpose of the clinical review?
The clinical review is looking at a bigger number of patients to try and find where care was not as good as it should have been, including if harm was caused, so that this can be put right.
Who will review my case?
The expert clinical reviewers are senior orthopaedic surgeons operating on bones and joints at NHS hospitals across England and Scotland.
We worked with two specialist organisations who helped us to find the right expert surgeons from across the UK to review the care and the treatment you received. These organisations are the British Orthopaedic Association (opens in a new tab) and the Royal College of Surgeons (opens in a new tab) and you can read more about them on their websites.
The external clinical reviewers make up a group of some of the most experienced orthopaedic surgeons in the UK.
Why am I being reviewed?
You are being reviewed because the operation that Ms Stohr performed is of a type which Mr Hunter has decided should be looked at by the expert clinical reviewers. Mr Hunter decided this based on how complicated an operation is and if an orthopaedic doctor reading your notes would understand if there was a problem with your care.
What happens when my case is reviewed?
Your case will be given to a clinical reviewer. They will look at all the notes about your orthopaedic care at Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH). This includes appointments, operations and tests.
The reviewer will also look at any feedback that you have shared with your case worker.
The reviewer will use this information to understand whether your care was above or below the level you should expect and if harm was caused.
Is the clinical review totally separate to CUH?
Yes. None of the expert clinical reviewers work at CUH.
How do I know that I can trust the clinical review?
Your trust in this process is very important and we want to get to the right answer for you as quickly as possible. That is why we asked the two specialist organisations (the British Orthopaedic Association and the Royal College of Surgeons) for their advice about the best way to carry out clinical reviews. We have also asked NHS England (the organisation that oversees the NHS as a whole) and the Care Quality Commission (the organisation that inspects and regulates hospitals) for their input. In addition, we have spoken with other hospitals and experts from across the country.
The clinical review is being led by Mr Andrew Kennedy KC. Mr Kennedy is an experienced lawyer who has been involved with similar reviews in the NHS. As the lead for the clinical review, Mr Kennedy makes sure that the expert clinical reviewers get to the right answer for each individual patient.
The expert clinical reviewers all follow the same method which is based on national safety guidance.
What happens if my clinical reviewer isn’t certain about my care?
If the clinical reviewer is not certain we will bring your case to a group meeting with other expert clinical reviewers. Your case will then be discussed by the group so that an agreement can be reached.
How can I feed into my review?
We want to know how you feel about the care you received. You are the expert and your feedback will help the reviewers to form their understanding.
Any contact you have with your case worker will be shared with your clinical reviewer. You can get in touch by phone or text on 07719 407 210, Mondays – Fridays between 9 am and 4 pm or email our family liaison team anytime.
We want to hear from you.
When can I expect to hear from CUH?
When we have the outcome of your clinical review your case worker will call you to let you know and arrange a convenient time to discuss your case. In some cases, it will be appropriate for us to offer you a face-to-face meeting and this will be arranged when we call you.
We will write to all patients who are being reviewed at least every three months to keep in touch.
If you do not want us to keep in touch after your review is completed please let us know.
When will my case be reviewed?
We are working as quickly as we can to provide answers for patients and their families.
The review will take at least one year to complete. We will contact you when we have the outcome of your review.
Is there an investigation into what happened back in 2015 and 2016?
Yes. We know that concerns were first raised about Ms Stohr in 2015 and that an external review was carried out in 2016.
We have asked Verita, an independent investigations company, to find out what was known about these issues and when. This is to find out whether we could have acted more quickly on the findings and suggestions from the 2016 report.
Verita is a completely separate organisation to CUH and we welcome their comprehensive and rigorous approach.
We will implement any immediate and longer-term recommendations and publish the findings from the Verita investigation in full once it is finished.
How can I get in contact?
You can contact your case worker on 07719 407 210 or email our family liaison team.