On Monday 11th November, Channel 4 investigation programme, Dispatches reported on Mr Ian Paterson, the Consultant Surgeon based at Solihull and a couple of Spire Hospitals, in relation to his activities.
It reported about the seemingly unauthorised procedure of a “Cleavage Sparing Mastectomy” that he had been carrying out at Solihull Hospital and also reported on the other activities, principally carried out at Spire private hospitals where women were given wholly unnecessary surgery or indeed multiple surgeries.
The programme reported that the activities of Mr Paterson had been brought to the attention of Mr Paterson’s employers at the Heart of England NHS Trust and that as a result, Mr Paterson had given undertakings to his employers not to carry out certain procedures in the future. He seems to have flouted this.
Similarly there was a report in the programme that a GP had raised concerns about Mr Paterson’s activities and in particular a suggestion that he was carrying out unnecessary surgical procedures. This information was communicated to the Spire Hospitals where Mr Paterson also worked.
The programme, entitled “Can You Trust Your Surgeon?” examined how and why it was that Mr Paterson was able to carry on his activities for as long as he did.
Having been at the forefront of the actions on behalf of dozens of women and families affected by Mr Patersons actions, and having been consulted by the programme about our experiences in dealing with the many cases arising from the actions of Mr Paterson, it was reassuring to see that the matter was being investigated by Dispatches and hopefully the lessons will have been learned such that this does not happen again.
The Hospital’s own report from Sir Ian Kennedy is due to be published shortly and again it will be interesting to see his conclusions.
Waldrons Solicitors Blog 