Humberside Police is investigating the deaths of heart procedure patients at Castle Hill Hospital, it confirmed today.

The force said no arrests have been made and the investigation is in the "very early stages". Documents raised concerns about the deaths of 11 patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) at the hospital in Cottingham, the BBC reports.

TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure, usually carried out under local anaesthesia. It involves inserting a new valve in the heart via a catheter inserted into the large femoral artery located in the groin.

Brian Hunter, from Grimsby, was one of the 11 patients who died. The former fisherman was aged in his eighties when he underwent the procedure in October 2021.

According to the BBC, the Royal College graded Mr Hunter's care as "very poor". NHS Humber Health Partnership, which is responsible for Castle Hill Hospital, told Hull Live deaths from the procedure were "similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period".

A spokesperson for Humberside Police told Hull Live: "An investigation is in the very early stages in relation to deaths following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) surgery at Castle Hill Hospital. Enquiries are being carried out and at this time, we can confirm no arrests have been made."

A spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Partnership told Hull Live: “We would never discuss an individual patient case in the public domain but we understand families may have questions and we are happy to answer those directly.

"We have previously written to families who have lost a loved one following TAVI treatment with an invitation to meet and discuss the specific circumstances of their case, and we would reiterate that offer.

“Our service retains the confidence of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regional Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Royal College of Physicians, and the Trust.

"Three separate external reviews of our TAVI service have been undertaken and shown that mortality rates associated with TAVI are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period.

“The Royal College of Physicians was invited to review the service in 2021, at the request of the Trust’s Chief Medical Officer. The Royal College report concluded that the TAVI service is essential for the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs to be expanded.

"It stated however that 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.

“A key improvement has been the dramatic reduction in the length of time patients wait to have their TAVI procedure, which was shown in the Royal College Report to have been too long, like many other TAVI services across England.”

In a statement, the Royal College of Physicians said: "The chief medical officer of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) contacted the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in March 2023 to request an invited review of its transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) service."

The Royal College of Physicians also said it follows up on all reviews and is "satisfied with the progress made by the Trust in implementing our recommendations". Risk to patients identified in the reviews were "managed appropriately", it added.