Missed opportunities to protect patients from surgeon

Posted: March 4, 2014

Posted in: Medical Negligence 

A review has found that two of England’s private hospitals have missed opportunities to take action against the failures of consultant breast surgeon Ian Paterson.  It was found that the surgeon had been performing incomplete and even unnecessary operations on patients before being suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2012.  Spire Healthcare had been investigating the work of Mr Paterson at two private hospitals in 2007.  They have apologised “unreservedly” to all patients that were involved with Mr Paterson.

The independent review found a failure to address the substandard work of Mr Paterson at both private hospitals – Spire Parkway in Solihull and Spire Little Aston in Sutton Coldfield.  There were many missed opportunities to protect the patients at both hospitals.

700 patients contacted

The review found that Mr Paterson “continually breached” Spire’s practicing privileges policy, which should have raised the alarm that he was unfit to work at the hospitals. He was an employee at Spire Healthcare between 1993 and 2012. The private healthcare organisation was even alerted by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) in 2007 with issues concerning his practicing abilities.  The case was finally referred to West Midlands Police following Mr Paterson’s suspension in 2012.

More than 700 patients were contacted as a result of Mr Paterson’s substandard treatment.  Chief executive of Spire Healthcare, Rob Roger, said: “We give a full and unreserved apology to all of the patients and their families for any distress they have suffered as a result of their treatment by Mr Paterson while he was a surgeon at the Spire Parkway and Little Aston hospitals”.

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