Royal College of Physicians' review vindicates concerns raised by families seeking answers over lung disease care at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

Lawyers described the damning findings as a significant vindication for patients and families they represent who have raised concerns and are seeking answers about the care they received. This includes Slater and Gordon client Laura Noakes, whose 48-year-old husband, Daniel, died prematurely in February 2024 after receiving flawed ILD treatment at St Helier Hospital.

The review, commissioned by the Trust, concluded that the actions of former respiratory consultant Dr Veronica Varney, who left the Trust in 2023 and was referred to the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2024 where she remains under interim practice restrictions, potentially contributed to patients' irreversible lung damage, severe clinical harm, poorer quality of life or premature death.

This included delays in diagnosis, failures to follow established clinical guidelines, inappropriate treatment decisions and a lack of or delays in referrals to specialist multidisciplinary teams. It also identified inaccuracies in diagnostic reporting and inconsistent clinical decision-making. The review found evidence of severe clinical harm in multiple cases, including three patients whose deaths were linked to missed opportunities to access potentially life-extending treatment.

The findings follow concerns previously identified by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, which revealed that of 216 patients treated for ILD, 42% had not been referred to specialist services, 30% received no care at all and 20% were not properly investigated diagnostically. With regards to leadership and cultural failings, internal reviews also found that between 2019 and 2022 Trust management completely failed to act on early warnings due to ‘strained relationships among clinical leads’, poor escalation pathways, and an organizational culture that discouraged junior staff from challenging senior consultants.

The Trust has apologised to affected patients, accepted all 19 recommendations made by the RCP and has extended its look-back review to cover all ILD cases handled by the consultant.

Nadia Saber, specialist medical negligence lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: “The findings of this independent review are deeply concerning and for patients living with the consequences of these failings through life-changing deterioration in their own health, or families already coping with the loss of loved ones, those conclusions will be incredibly devastating to hear. Having spent years fighting to be heard and questioning whether the care received fell below acceptable standards, this report will come as no surprise, but will provide them with important recognition, formal vindication and prove their concerns were justified.”

ILD encompasses over 200 progressive conditions causing inflammation and scarring of lung tissue. Timely early diagnosis, multi-disciplinary specialist input and access to appropriate treatment are critical.

Nadia added: “Accounts given by our clients, who long believed that opportunities were missed to diagnose, investigate and treat their condition appropriately, mirror and reinforce the exact pattern of serious concerns and systemic failures detailed in the report. The most troubling aspect is that the review painted a worrying conclusion some patients may have suffered irreversible harm, reduced quality of life and, in the most serious cases, premature death. These are not simply isolated clinical errors. They raise serious questions about governance, oversight and whether concerns were identified and acted upon quickly enough.

“Our clients deserved care that reflected established clinical standards and evidence-based practice.”

The report also raised concerns about the Trust's handling of earlier warnings, identifying issues and the way concerns were addressed between 2019 and 2022. While the review acknowledged improvements have since been made, it found there were missed opportunities to intervene sooner.

"While we welcome the publication of this review, the Trust's acceptance of its findings and that it has now offered an apology, patients and their families deserve full transparency and clear honest explanations about what went wrong when issues were first raised, whether earlier action could have prevented harm and reassurance that meaningful lessons have been learned to prevent similar failures from happening again. Accountability cannot stop at merely recognising past mistakes as these were not isolated medical errors. The scale across hundreds of patients means there was a prolonged, systemic failure of governance where the hospital leadership repeatedly turned a blind eye to explicit warnings.”

Slater and Gordon continue to investigate claims on behalf of patients and families who believe they may have suffered avoidable harm as a result of the care they received through the ILD service at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust.

Nadia added: “We would strongly encourage anyone who has concerns about the lung care treatment they or a loved one received to come forward and seek independent advice. Our clients have shown tremendous courage in speaking out and we remain committed to helping them understand what happened, obtain the answers to what went wrong, reach accountability and receive the justice they deserve.”