Great Ormond Street Hospital’s statement on the review of the Gastroenterology Department

Great Ormond Street Hospital has issued the following response to media coverage regarding the review into the Gastroenterology Service at the hospital. 'This is an incredibly complex area of medicine where there are no agreed clinical guidelines. Within this context, while we always strive to provide the best possible care, we have acknowledged that we haven’t always got this right. For this we are very sorry.

We would like to reassure the public that the review of our gastroenterology service was comprehensive and thorough, including assessment of all relevant cases by independent national and international experts. It found that the vast majority of care in the service was good and there was no evidence of long-term consequences for any patients as a result of their care.

External reviewers have acknowledged the thorough process that has taken place and described the improvements that have been made to the service over the last two years, including improved reporting pathways and better patient communication.

We have had in-depth dialogue with the patients whose care packages were reviewed and ensured all gastroenterology patients were aware of the review and the steps being taken to improve the service, through letters, a listening event and updates on our website.

Furthermore, we have worked closely with our regulators, the CQC, and NHS Improvement and NHS England and have shared findings and documents with them on a regular basis.

Now the review process is complete, we are in active discussion with our commissioners about increasing the number of referrals we receive as part of the nationwide system of care for these patients.

We are also making further contact with any patients referred to in the media, to ensure that we are doing all we can to learn from their experience.’

Should gastroenterology patients and their families have any further questions they can contact our gastroenterology department information line Monday to Friday 9am-5pm on 020 7762 6041.

For general enquiries please contact the Patient and Advice Liaison Service at PALS@gosh.nhs.uk.

For press enquiries please call 020 7239 3039 or 07966 311 186 (out of hours).

During the review process we have placed updates on our website. These statements can be accessed below:

March 2018

December 2016