THE DEATHS of six patients of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust have been attributed to problems in the care provided to them.

The Learning from Deaths quarterly report, presented to the trust board earlier this month, found the deaths were 'more likely than not due in part to problems in the care provided to the patient.'

The deaths occurred between April, 2018, and March, 2019, and represented 1.1 per cent of the total number of people who died while they were in-patients.

All six deaths were investigated using the serious incident framework.

Overall, the report found there was a reduction in the amount of deaths among in-patients — 558 people died, compared to 668 the previous year.

The trust said it was no coincidence and was tied to the work it was doing to improve standards of care.

A spokesperson said: "We are working tirelessly to improve the services we provide and that means making sure that we learn from mistakes, whether or not they result in harm.

"Ensuring all deaths are looked into is an important part of that learning process.

"Over the past 12 months we have improved our processes for reviewing deaths and serious incidents. It is no coincidence that the number of patients dying at St Mary’s is falling and that the number of deaths where problems in care may have been a factor is decreasing too.

"We will continue to do everything possible to make sure this improvement is sustained because our community rightly expects the best possible standards of care."

The report included a recommendation to involve families where appropriate.