Ian Paterson: Rogue surgeon mistreated more than 1,000 patients, report finds

A rogue breast cancer surgeon jailed for carrying out unnecessary operations may have mistreated more than 1,000 people, a report has found.

Ian Paterson was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in 2017 for wounding patients after a criminal investigation found he performed unnecessary surgery including mastectomies.

The Right Reverend Graham James, who led the inquiry, said “in many cases” those affected have not been recalled, adding that some of Paterson’s victims were “lied to, deceived or exploited”.

Following the investigation, five health professionals have been referred to either the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Another case has been referred to West Midlands Police.

It is still possible for a rogue surgeon to operate in both the NHS and private sectors today, the report said.

Checks and balances put in place since Paterson practised, which may have detected what he was doing, are not universal or uniform across the NHS and independent sectors, it added.

The inquiry team concluded: “It is our opinion that it remains possible for poor or unsafe practice to be undetected today.”

Patients were failed by “a healthcare system that proved itself dysfunctional at almost every level when it came to keeping patients safe”, the report said.

It has also discovered that concerns raised by healthcare professionals in the NHS were missed on many occasions and there was a “culture of avoidance and denial” within both the NHS and the private sector.

It said Paterson could have been stopped from practising in 2003 and should have been stopped in 2007 rather than 2011.

“Opportunities to stop him were missed, time after time,” Rt Rev James said, adding there was a “wilful blindness” to what Paterson was doing.

“Some could have known, some should have known, and a few must have known,” he said.

“Eight years passed between medical professionals raising concerns about Ian Paterson’s medical practice and his suspension. He was given the benefit of the doubt time and time again, undeservedly, and the consequences for the patients have been terrible.”

The inquiry team has spoken to hundreds of patients who were harmed by Paterson, who was also invited to contribute but declined.

The report has made 15 recommendations that include the creation of a single repository of consultants’ practice, setting out their practising privileges and key performance data that is accessible and clear to the public.

It also said the government needed to address gaps in responsibility and liability between the NHS and the independent sector as a priority.

Debbie Douglas was diagnosed with breast cancer by Ian Paterson in 2003. She recalls the fear she felt when told by him that she needed a mastectomy and chemotherapy, and the anxiety it caused her then teenage children.

It was only later, when she was recalled, that she discovered her cancer had been of a low grade and the mastectomy and reconstruction had been unnecessary.

She was also told that not all of her breast tissue had been removed, as she had thought, because Ian Paterson had performed a “cleavage sparing mastectomy” without informing her.

“Down the line I realise none of this was necessary. I should have had a lumpectomy,” she told Sky News.

“Not only has he left me scarred physically and mentally but he’s left me at risk of a reoccurance of breast cancer. If I needed a mastectomy he should have removed all the breast tissue.”

She was treated at the private Spire Parkway hospital in Solihull.

The report found that “where good practice is implemented in the NHS it is often voluntary in the independent sector”.

It continues: “Where the independent sector does adopt best practice it is often slow and decisions to adopt such practice focus on innovation and flexibility rather than keeping patients safe.”

Health minister Nadine Dorries said: “I deeply regret the failures of the NHS and the independent sector to protect patients from the devastating impact of Paterson’s malpractice.

“It is essential we all respond quickly and effectively to the lessons of this inquiry, giving every patient the confidence that the care they receive is safe and meets the highest standards.

“We will give thorough and detailed consideration to this report and its findings and will provide a full response in due course.”

The trust’s chair, Rt Hon Jacqui Smith, said: “Poor management, culture and lack of governance at HEFT at the time failed his NHS patients and other staff members who raised concerns and issues of safety that were not acted upon.

“We therefore welcome today’s report and its findings and fully support recommendations that will reinforce transparent and publicly-accountable practice and rigorous regulation, to ensure the safest care and best possible outcomes for patients.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Ian Paterson: Rogue surgeon mistreated more than 1,000 patients, report finds