Police launch investigation into heart deaths at Castle Hill in Cottingham
It is claimed patients suffered avoidable harm
Last updated 4th Jun 2025
Police in East Yorkshire have launched an investigation into the deaths of patients following heart operations at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.
The force says the investigation is "in the very early stages" and no arrests had been made.
It comes following concerns about the care patients received during a TAVI - Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant.
A TAVI is a procedure to replace a damaged valve in the heart.
It's claimed some patients suffered 'avoidable harm'.
In a statement Humberside Police said: "An investigation is in the very early stages in relation to deaths following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) surgery at Castle Hill Hospital.
"Enquiries are being carried out and at this time, we can confirm no arrests have been made."
"the service should be reviewed and invested in"
In response, a spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Partnership said:
“We would never discuss an individual patient case in the public domain but we understand families may have questions and we are happy to answer those directly.
"We have previously written to families who have lost a loved one following TAVI treatment with an invitation to meet and discuss the specific circumstances of their case, and we would reiterate that offer.
“Our service retains the confidence of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regional Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Royal College of Physicians, and the Trust.
"Three separate external reviews of our TAVI service have been undertaken and shown that mortality rates associated with TAVI are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period.
“The Royal College of Physicians was invited to review the service in 2021, at the request of the Trust’s Chief Medical Officer.
"The Royal College report concluded that the TAVI service is essential for the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs to be expanded.
"It stated however that the design of the service should be reviewed and invested in. The report offered a number of actions for improvement and we have delivered against all of those since it was shared with us.
“A key improvement has been the dramatic reduction in the length of time patients wait to have their TAVI procedure, which was shown in the Royal College Report to have been too long, like many other TAVI services across England.”