Freedom of Information Request: 0535 2019/20
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) completed a merger by acquisition of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) on 1st April 2018. Due to historical differences in data collection/reporting across UHB and the former Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust this response has been provided by hospital site.
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- Please can you supply me with a list of every patient death by sepsis over the last 10 calendar years (removing any person information that might identify the patient if necessary to comply with data protection laws).
Heartlands, Good Hope, and Solihull Hospitals (all available data):
| Month | Deaths | Month | Deaths | Month | Deaths |
| Mar-13 | 29 | Jul-15 | 23 | Oct-17 | 27 |
| Apr-13 | 22 | Aug-15 | 20 | Nov-17 | 35 |
| May-13 | 24 | Sep-15 | 35 | Dec-17 | 33 |
| Jun-13 | 21 | Oct-15 | 35 | Jan-18 | 51 |
| Jul-13 | 26 | Nov-15 | 29 | Feb-18 | 29 |
| Aug-13 | 10 | Dec-15 | 29 | Mar-18 | 41 |
| Sep-13 | 26 | Jan-16 | 43 | Apr-18 | 40 |
| Oct-13 | 33 | Feb-16 | 43 | May-18 | 33 |
| Nov-13 | 27 | Mar-16 | 41 | Jun-18 | 23 |
| Dec-13 | 40 | Apr-16 | 37 | Jul-18 | 22 |
| Jan-14 | 29 | May-16 | 29 | Aug-18 | 25 |
| Feb-14 | 29 | Jun-16 | 30 | Sep-18 | 19 |
| Mar-14 | 35 | Jul-16 | 27 | Oct-18 | 20 |
| Apr-14 | 32 | Aug-16 | 27 | Nov-18 | 20 |
| May-14 | 24 | Sep-16 | 33 | Dec-18 | 26 |
| Jun-14 | 18 | Oct-16 | 31 | Jan-19 | 27 |
| Jul-14 | 27 | Nov-16 | 40 | Feb-19 | 32 |
| Aug-14 | 33 | Dec-16 | 38 | Mar-19 | 23 |
| Sep-14 | 21 | Jan-17 | 36 | Apr-19 | 22 |
| Oct-14 | 33 | Feb-17 | 33 | May-19 | 30 |
| Nov-14 | 33 | Mar-17 | 30 | Jun-19 | 14 |
| Dec-14 | 44 | Apr-17 | 27 | Jul-19 | 21 |
| Jan-15 | 41 | May-17 | 41 | Aug-19 | 20 |
| Feb-15 | 46 | Jun-17 | 17 | Sep-19 | 20 |
| Mar-15 | 40 | Jul-17 | 28 | Oct-19 | 18 |
| Apr-15 | 28 | Aug-17 | 36 | Nov-19 | 18 |
| May-15 | 31 | Sep-17 | 23 | Dec-19 | 18 |
| Jun-15 | 24 |
Total: 2,394
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham:
| Month | Deaths | Month | Deaths | Month | Deaths |
| Nov-09 | 10 | Mar-13 | 14 | Sep-16 | 5 |
| Dec-09 | 9 | Apr-13 | 9 | Oct-16 | 8 |
| Jan-10 | 11 | May-13 | 6 | Nov-16 | 17 |
| Feb-10 | 7 | Jun-13 | 6 | Dec-16 | 21 |
| Mar-10 | 5 | Jul-13 | 10 | Jan-17 | 24 |
| Apr-10 | 10 | Aug-13 | 11 | Feb-17 | 14 |
| May-10 | 8 | Sep-13 | 13 | Mar-17 | 19 |
| Jun-10 | 12 | Oct-13 | 5 | Apr-17 | 14 |
| Jul-10 | 12 | Nov-13 | 9 | May-17 | 13 |
| Aug-10 | 11 | Dec-13 | 14 | Jun-17 | 9 |
| Sep-10 | 4 | Jan-14 | 11 | Jul-17 | 16 |
| Oct-10 | 6 | Feb-14 | 15 | Aug-17 | 11 |
| Nov-10 | 8 | Mar-14 | 22 | Sep-17 | 13 |
| Dec-10 | 18 | Apr-14 | 20 | Oct-17 | 15 |
| Jan-11 | 12 | May-14 | 16 | Nov-17 | 12 |
| Feb-11 | 10 | Jun-14 | 16 | Dec-17 | 14 |
| Mar-11 | 5 | Jul-14 | 7 | Jan-18 | 12 |
| Apr-11 | 7 | Aug-14 | 11 | Feb-18 | 10 |
| May-11 | 5 | Sep-14 | 12 | Mar-18 | 20 |
| Jun-11 | 7 | Oct-14 | 11 | Apr-18 | 13 |
| Jul-11 | 17 | Dec-14 | 2 | May-18 | 15 |
| Aug-11 | 4 | Jan-15 | 18 | Jun-18 | 10 |
| Sep-11 | 6 | Feb-15 | 10 | Jul-18 | 17 |
| Oct-11 | 5 | Mar-15 | 4 | Aug-18 | 14 |
| Nov-11 | 4 | Apr-15 | 15 | Sep-18 | 16 |
| Dec-11 | 4 | May-15 | 13 | Oct-18 | 14 |
| Jan-12 | 12 | Jun-15 | 13 | Nov-18 | 11 |
| Feb-12 | 12 | Jul-15 | 12 | Dec-18 | 11 |
| Mar-12 | 5 | Aug-15 | 7 | Jan-19 | 12 |
| Apr-12 | 4 | Sep-15 | 9 | Feb-19 | 10 |
| May-12 | 16 | Oct-15 | 1 | Mar-19 | 11 |
| Jun-12 | 8 | Dec-15 | 2 | Apr-19 | 14 |
| Jul-12 | 8 | Jan-16 | 20 | May-19 | 14 |
| Aug-12 | 11 | Feb-16 | 17 | Jun-19 | 5 |
| Sep-12 | 9 | Mar-16 | 18 | Jul-19 | 9 |
| Oct-12 | 11 | Apr-16 | 14 | Aug-19 | 13 |
| Nov-12 | 11 | May-16 | 10 | Sep-19 | 12 |
| Dec-12 | 16 | Jun-16 | 11 | Oct-19 | 15 |
| Jan-13 | 14 | Jul-16 | 10 | Nov-19 | 12 |
| Feb-13 | 12 | Aug-16 | 22 | Dec-19 | 5 |
Total: 1,352
The Trust does hold all the information you have requested below, however we are withholding this information for the following reasons.
a. If possible, this should include any internal investigation carried out by the trust, or
b. any notes that give information on what treatment the patient was given before they died.
The Trust does hold the information you have requested, however we are withholding it under Section 40 (2) (Personal Information) of the Freedom of information Act (2000). If we were to gather this information by retrieving information from individual patient records we would be in breach of the second data protection principle “Personal information must be processed for limited purpose”.
We would need to review individual patient records to determine whether an internal investigation took place, which would also breach this principle.
Section 40 (2) is an absolute exemption meaning there is no requirement to consider the public interest when disclosing this information.
