Inquest to probe heart valve patient's death

An inquest is set to investigate how a patient died after a heart valve was put in upside down during surgery.

Sheila Hynes, 71, suffered massive internal bleeding during what should have been a routine operation at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The grandmother and great-grandmother from Newcastle never came round from the operation - led by consultant surgeon Asif Raza Shah - after the mistake caused irreversible damage to her heart.

A second operation to try to get her heart working failed and she died in intensive care a week later.

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Freeman, has admitted that the error caused Mrs Hynes' death.

An inquest which is listed to take five days will be held at Newcastle's Civic Centre.