Hospitals made money from scandal surgeon Ian Paterson

Private hospitals may have made more than £3 million from the actions of the disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson, a think tank has claimed.

Paterson was jailed in 2017 for carrying out unnecessary surgery on ten patients in private hospitals. However, it is believed he harmed about 750 patients, many of whom he wrongly led to believe they had cancer. He was paid each time he operated but the private hospitals would have received a separate payment for each operation, the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) said. 

CHPI wants the inquiry set up by the government into Paterson’s actions to examine the financial incentives that could affect how private hospitals treat patients. David Rowland, director of CHPI, said: “The current financial incentives to over-treat patients weigh heavily against the weak measures which are in place to protect patients.”

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Source: The Times, 19 August 2019