General Surgery at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (The QEH) is now operating under the clinical leadership of the General Surgery team at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals (NNUH), and with their strong ongoing clinical support.
The mandated support arrangements are in preparation for establishing a shared service and come in response to critical findings of the previous service contained in a report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) which is published today (Thursday 18 December 2025).
The QEH commissioned an invited review by the RCS into General Surgery following concerns raised in two whistleblowing letters and by hospital staff. The QEH wanted an independent examination of issues raised, an assessment of the continued safety of the service and identification of areas for further improvement.
What the review found
The RCS reviewed 17 clinical cases – eight original operations and nine complication or return-to-theatre cases.
- Eight cases were judged to have involved care below the expected standard.
- The review did not identify evidence of widespread harm, and mortality outcomes were within expected ranges.
The review highlighted the need for improvement in recognition of deterioration; timely return to theatre; surgical decision-making and escalation; handovers, consultant accountability, team culture and governance.
It also found weaknesses in clinical governance, teamwork and learning systems, which meant problems were not recognised or addressed early enough.
The findings in the RCS review relate only to general surgery – abdominal operations such as bowel, gallbladder, hernia and colorectal cancer procedures. All other surgical services at The QEH were not part of the review and continue to provide safe, high-quality care.
Action taken
The decision to mandate new leadership, oversight and service arrangements as part of a move towards a new shared service, was made swiftly and decisively by the new Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group (NWUHG) (of which The QEH is part), following consideration of the findings of the RCS report, received in October.
The NWUHG Group made the decision to assure people and patients of the safety of general surgery at The QEH and ensure its sustainable availability for the local population. It represents the first time that the newly formed Group has used its step in powers to support a struggling Group member.
The new mandated service arrangement began on 12 December 2025. It sees the NNUH team support their QEH colleagues with:
- strong clinical leadership
- enhanced clinical governance and clinical oversight
- mandatory NNUH consultant oversight of all emergency surgery
- development of aligned standards, pathways and expectations across both hospitals
Additional leadership and further review
Dr Tim Leary, former Deputy Medical Director at NNUH, is providing additional on-site leadership to help embed new processes and strengthen team culture.
A review into clinical governance arrangements at The QEH is to be taken, with support of NHS England. Although current mortality and medical examiner data does not indicate widespread poor outcomes, NWUHG is considering a retrospective review of additional cases to provide further reassurance.
The QEH General Surgery team have welcome the additional clinical support from their NNUH colleagues.
Professor Lesley Dwyer, Group Chief Executive of NWUHG, said:
“We are deeply sorry for the lapses in care at the QEH identified in this report and for the governance failures that meant concerns were not identified sooner.
“Our apology to affected patients and their families is unreserved. We are in touch with each of them directly to offer our support.
“We acknowledge all the issues the report raises, however our top priority has been to ensure the safety and sustainability of this vitally important local service at the QEH for its patients, and be able to assure local people with confidence, that this is so.
“We can do so, because of the new mandated support arrangements from the NNUH now in place. They provide strong clinical leadership, increased support for QEH consultants, enhanced independent oversight and ensure a second opinion is sought and received for out of hours and emergency operations.
“The NNUH general surgery team are happy to be working alongside their QEH colleagues and support them in making the service as safe, supportive and robust as possible.”
Chris Bown, Interim Executive Managing Director at The QEH, said:
“On behalf of the hospital, I apologise profusely for the fact that some general surgery patients did not receive the care they should have expected, and our staff want to give. We have acted to change that.
“We invited the Royal College to carry out a review proactively, because it is important that we are open to scrutiny, that we learn honestly, and take every opportunity to improve how we work together. Our patients must receive high quality care consistently across all our services.
“Some of the issues raised are deep seated and have been long lasting, predating the hospital’s current clinical and managerial leadership. I am extremely glad the RCS has been so thorough in bringing all these issues to light, so with our Group colleagues, we can act and put them right and critically, support our colleagues and this vitally important general surgery service.
“I am aware however, that day in day out many people have continued to receive safe, compassionate, and high-quality care from the range of services we provide, including other surgical specialities. It is very important that in learning the sharp lessons we have received from this report in respect of one area of our service, (now corrected), that we do not forget that, or fail to recognise the highly valued, caring contributions made by all our staff on behalf of the NHS, its patients and our communities.”
Professor Dwyer added:
“We are committed to openness, accountability, and learning. The Group structure has allowed us to step in quickly with the expertise, leadership and oversight required. These decisive actions provide immediate assurance and lay the foundations for sustained improvement. Our focus now is on ensuring safe, high-quality care for every patient, every time.”
Commitment to transparency
The full RCS report (redacted only to protect patient and staff confidentiality) and The QEH action plan will be published in full on the Trust website.
Support for patients and families
People who are worried or concerned about general surgery they have received or are scheduled to receive at The QEH should call our helpline: 01553 613006 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm).
For anyone wishing a call back there is a confidential form available on the Trust website.
Additional information
How can patients be confident QEHKL is safe?
The service is now operating with mandated expert enhanced clinical leadership, support and oversight provided by General Surgery colleagues at NNUH as a move towards a shared service is explored.
(The latest audit data provides confidence of the effectiveness of their service).
Will any surgeons face disciplinary action?
We asked for this review because patient care is our top priority and we want to improve where we have evidence that standards have fallen from those we and our patients should expect. Learning and improvement is the prime focus, not blame.
There are very clear NHS guidelines designed to maintain high professional standards (MHPS) of professional care and that set out the process that must be followed where there is evidence or concern that such standards have fallen below what is expected. We will follow that process where necessary. We have also made very explicit our expectations of behaviour from all concerned and new protocols are now mandatory.
Are the surgeons still employed and operating?
Yes, within enhanced frameworks, support and clinical oversight from professional colleagues from the NNUH.
Who holds overall responsibility for what has occured?
These issues have not arisen overnight. They are deep seated and have been long lasting. They certainly predate the current managerial leadership. It is also clear that over this period, the QEH working on its own has not been able to tackle them successfully.
This situation is now changed. The QEH now benefits from unified permanent strategic leadership and oversight as part of its inclusion in the new Norfolk and Waveney Hospital Group. As shown by its response to this QEH issue, the new Group can act swiftly and supportively when its individual hospitals are struggling and need step in support. In this case that has meant swiftly deploying extra expert surgical resource from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
The recent appointment of Michelle Arrowsmith, as permanent Executive Managing of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a major step forward for the Hospital, its staff and crucially, its patients. As Executive Managing Director, Michelle will have Group Board level influence on strategic decisions for the Hospital and its populations, but crucially, an enhanced ability to focus on operational improvement.
ENDS
Notes to editors; For media enquiries only, please contact Communications Team, media.enquiries@qehkl.nhs.uk or 01553 613216. For all other enquiries, please contact QEH Switchboard on 01553 613613.
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