NHS Trust requests review after eight patients harmed under care of gynaecologist
NHS England has been asked to conduct a review into the work of an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant after eight patients were found to have suffered 'unnecessary harm' under his care at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust.
Posted on 01 May 2020
The ‘lapses in care’ were identified when 58 cases were reviewed independently after concerns were voiced by members of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology team in late 2018.
The consultant concerned has not undertaken any clinical activity at the Trust since June, 2018, the Trust said in a statement on its website.
Now the Trust has contacted 136 women who were patients of the consultant from 2015 to 2018 to ask them to be involved in the review which it says will conclude after the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
In a statement on the Trust’s website, Dr Magnus Harrison, the Trust medical director, said:
“The review is necessarily complex and will determine whether patients have been managed appropriately and whether any harm has been caused by any deficiencies in their care. In writing to the patients the Trust informed them that their patient records will be confidentially shared as part of the NHS England review.”
Leigh Day solicitor Suzanne White, who specialises in women’s health cases noted that this case was another since the Paterson Inquiry which highlighted the risks to women who put their trust in medical professionals to carry out sensitive surgery.
Breast surgeon Ian Paterson was jailed for 20 years in 2017 on 17 counts of wounding with intent.
Suzanne White said:
“It is extremely concerning that eight women have come to harm under the care of a consultant gynaecologist. It is right that an inquiry will take place, but women need to be always sure in the knowledge that when they put themselves in the care of a medical professional, particularly for surgery, that their safety is consistently assured.”