Grieving families told about spike in deaths at NHS heart hospital

Published: 19:32, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 19:32, 2 July 2026 Families whose loved ones died after surgery at a specialist heart service have been contacted by health bosses amid a spike in mortality rates. NHS Golden Jubilee, the only hospital in Scotland which provides corrective surgery for people born with heart conditions, has written to grieving families to tell them of the rise. The discovery comes after the board, which runs the Clydebank hospital, identified outcomes which ‘did not meet the high standards we expect’ within its Scottish Adult Congenital Cardiac Service (Saccs). Public Health Scotland data showed that mortality rates had increased for three years running and were at a rate higher than in the rest of the UK.  The health board has contacted the families of those who have died to inform them about the review, official documents have disclosed. The Saccs Renewal Plan report, from the May 12 clinical governance committee, said: ‘Between 14 and 18 April 2025, we contacted the families of individuals who died between 2020 and 2025 to sensitively inform them about the review, explain the reasons for it, and offer further updates or engagement in whatever way felt right for them.’ The health board has also contacted charities which support people affected by congenital heart disease. Complex surgeries within Saccs were paused last year with patients sent south of the Border for treatment. The Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank saw a spike in deaths By the end of last month, some 19 patients have had procedures at hospitals in England. Low and medium complexity surgeries for Saccs have continued at the Golden Jubilee. The report said: ‘Patients with higher risk were offered treatment by NHS providers in England, or where appropriate, the choice of awaiting NHS [Golden Jubilee] restarting that procedure. Emergency surgery continued to be provided locally subject to unanimous agreement by the multidisciplinary team. ‘Arrangements were designed to maintain continuity of care and minimise disruption for patients and families. Most other essential services for Saccs patients have continued without interruption. ‘This includes patient assessments, diagnostic investigations, a range of cardiac catheterisation laboratory procedures, and the treatment of heart rhythm disorders.’ Saccs provides all adult congenital heart surgery for the health service north of the Border. In the past five years, the NHS Golden Jubilee report said, the service has performed an average of 78 operations per year with a small number of additional operations for non-congenital conditions. But, because of the nature of their patient’s conditions and typical history of previous surgeries, operations can be challenging. Health board bosses said they ‘proactively commissioned an in-depth review after routine internal audit prompted concern about patient outcomes’. Data from Public Health Scotland, the reporting of which was brought forward, spotted the trend. The internal document, first reported by the Herald but seen by the Mail, said: ‘This identified that the unadjusted mortality rate had increased for three consecutive years, reaching 4.9% in 2024-25, compared to a rUK level of 2.8% in 2024-25, averaging 1.7% over 2017-25 (range 0.6-2.8%).’ The Saccs review does not affect non-congenital heart operations, including transplants, or cardiology procedures for any other patient groups. A health board spokesman said: ‘We have maintained open and ongoing communication with Saccs patients and their carers throughout this period. ‘Any individual questions or concerns have been, and continue to be, addressed directly by our specialist team. ‘We will continue to keep patients, families and partners fully informed as plans progress. ‘Any Saccs patient who has concerns or questions regarding their treatment plan is encouraged to contact the Saccs team directly, where advice and support can be provided.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.