§ Lord Harris of Greenwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What form of inquiry they propose to institute into the circumstances of the death of Mrs. M. Curtin, a patient in Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow and whether a copy of the report of any such inquiry will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)An investigation was undertaken by the Northwick Park and St. Mark's National Health Service Trust in response to a complaint relating to the circumstances of Mrs. Curtin's tragic death. A copy of the report was sent to Mr. Curtin on 11 April but has not been published. In view of the media comment on the case, however, the NHS trust issued a press statement, copies of which are available in the Library.
The trust has accepted that Mrs. Curtin suffered discomfort as a result of delay and has apologised to Mr. Curtin for this and other shortcomings. There is no evidence that the delay contributed to Mrs. Curtin's death. The trust has acted without delay to improve the way patients are treated in the accident and emergency 66WA department and is reviewing its nursing requirements, Changes announced to neighbouring hospitals mean that staffing and management plans remain under constant review.