REVEALED: Neurology probe into deaths examining 3500 cases

Downtown Cool FM can exclusively reveal a review into Dr Michael Watt's deceased patients is examining the case notes of over 3500 patients.

It comes after a report published yesterday (Tuesday) revealed almost a fifth of those patients involved in a second recall had received an 'insecure diagnosis.'

Health Minister Robin Swann issued a public apology to the patients for the distress caused in the assembly on Tuesday and also revealed a third patient recall is underway.

Mr Swann said it is important to note that a diagnosis which is considered to be not secure "does not automatically equate to a misdiagnosis.''

"Other factors need to be considered. The patients involved have been advised of the outcome of their individual cases,'' he said.

The Belfast Health Trust described the latest patient recall as involving 209 former patients of Dr Watt who were seen and discharged between 1996 and 2012, and who are taking certain prescribed medications for specific neurological conditions.

Those affected received a letter on Tuesday to contact the trust to set up a telephone review with a consultant neurologist.

The Independent Neurology Inquiry was established following the recall in May 2018 of thousands of Dr Watt's patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The RQIA was tasked with reviewing neurology patient deaths of any cause over a ten year period between 2008-2018.

There has been a significant delay in this work.

Health Minister Robin Swann updated the assembly about the status of the investigation:

"Members will also be aware that throughout this process the RQIA have been commissioned to undertake a number of reviews.

"The first I would like to provide an update on is the expert review of deceased patients.

"This review involves the clinical case notes of the patients of Dr Watt who died in the ten years prior to the neurology recall.

"The review was commissioned in 2018 but has been significantly delayed, initially due to legal issues surrounding the sharing of sensitive information and more recently due to the pandemic's impact on resources."

Colin Armstrong's mother Ruth was a patient of Dr Watt's before she died in 2002.

It is understood her case is one of a small number outside the timeframe which will be included in the review.

He told Downtown Cool FM many families are frustrated by the delay in the RQIA investigation:

"They (the RQIA) are letting us down and they are letting the public down because we can't understand the full ramifications of the Michael Watt case unless the deceased patient's cases are examined alongside those of the living patients.

"The public needs to know this, it's not just me it's the public as a whole."

And he called on the watchdog to speed up the probe:

"This should be a parallel process to the recall of the living patients."

In a statement a spokesperson for the RQIA said:

"RQIA has progressed a significant amount of preparatory work for this Review, which included agreeing with holders of the records a legal basis on which these could be provided to RQIA.

"A data set has now been received which includes over 3,500 patients who died from any cause during the period 2008-2018.

"A small number of patients who are outside this time period are also to be included in the review.

"Precise arrangements for the panel who will be undertaking the expert review are being formally agreed.

"However, the large number of records involved will require RQIA to take a phased approach to this work. Arrangements for the next phase will be announced shortly.”