After raising concerns about Mrs Readhead’s case in 2020, Dr Bragadeesh was asked to step down from his role as clinical director of Castle Hill Hospital’s cardiology department as part of a wider leadership reorganisation.
When the rationale for the reorganisation was challenged, the trust asked the RCP to conduct its 2021 review, including assessing whether the decision to change the management team and his role was correct.
There were poor working relationships within the cardiology department, found the RCP at that time, with reviewers adding that they “positively acknowledge the decision to step down the cardiology leadership roles”.
Dr Bragadeesh continued to work at Castle Hill but took the trust to an employment tribunal.
In December 2023, the tribunal dismissed three of his 29 complaints and said of the remaining 26 that they were out of time, concluding he should have brought his case earlier.
He now works at a different NHS trust. He says the failures identified in the 2024 Royal College of Physicians review “show I was right to raise concerns about the TAVI procedure”.
The Humber Health Care Partnership – which runs Castle Hill through Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) – said in a statement: “We understand families may have questions and we are happy to answer those directly.”
It said that following a 2021 review, the RCP concluded the TAVI service was essential for the region, but said 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,” it said.
It said its services retained the confidence of the healthcare inspector, the Care Quality Commission.
The trust added that three separate external reviews had been undertaken “and shown that mortality rates associated with TAVI are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period”.
The mortality data it shared with the BBC indicates that the unit remains above the UK national average.
Additional reporting by Tara Mewawalla
