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Found 156 results
  1. Content Article
    These documents make up the report from phase 1 of our review into how well CQC listen and respond when people share concerns with them. Phase 1 was an independent review which Zoë Leventhal KC was appointed to lead. This looks into the handling of protected disclosures shared by Mr Kumar, alongside a sample of other information of concern shared with us by health and care staff. See also Listening, learning, responding to concerns (phase 2).
  2. News Article
    The high-profile Australian neurosurgeon Charlie Teo admits making an error by going “too far” and damaging a patient, but maintains she was told of the risks. The doctor on Monday appeared at a medical disciplinary hearing to explain how two women patients ended up with catastrophic brain injuries. Teo also defended allegations that he acted inappropriately by slapping a patient in an attempt to rouse her after surgery, contrasting it with Will Smith’s notorious slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards last year. “It wakes them up and it wakes them up pretty quickly. And I will continue to do it.” Charlie Teo tells inquiry he ‘did the wrong thing’ in surgery that left patient in vegetative state One of the issues the panel of legal and medical experts is considering is whether the women and their families were adequately informed of the risks of surgery. Both women had terminal brain tumours and had been given from weeks to months to live. They were left in essentially vegetative states after the surgeries and died soon after. “We were told he could give us more time,” one of the husbands said, according to court documents. “There was never any information about not coming out of it". Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 March 2023
  3. Event
    until
    As one of the largest gatherings of perioperative professionals in the UK, the AfPP Annual Conference is essential for anyone working in the perioperative field. This year’s theme is ‘A Profession To Be Proud Of’. Topics for 2023 include: Surgical plume and fires Leadership and Human Factors Surgical skills workshops Sustainability ...and much more! Register
  4. News Article
    A surgeon who may have infected two new mothers with herpes has been granted anonymity during the inquests into their deaths in an "unprecedented" ruling. Coroner Catherine Wood said she made the decision because the surgeon's "apprehension" about being named when he stands as a witness would "likely impede his evidence in court" and affect his health. Mid Kent and Medway Coroners is investigating the cases of Kimberly Sampson, 29, and Samantha Mulcahy, 32, who both died in 2018 after the same obstetrician conducted their caesareans. They were treated 6 weeks apart in hospitals run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust (EKHUT). On February 26 – the day before the inquest was due to begin and 16 months after it was first announced – EKHUT made a last-minute bid for anonymity covering the surgeon and a midwife also involved in both cases. The trust said they should not be named unless the inquest concluded they had passed on the infection, because of the "reputational damage" they would suffer, and because the surgeon's health was already being impacted by reports. Read full story Source: Medscape, 9 March 2023
  5. News Article
    Former patients of a surgeon who has been struck off say their lives have been ruined by his misconduct. The number of people harmed by Jeremy Parker is unknown but at least 123 are taking legal action. Their lawyer said the scale of harm caused by his malpractice "could be huge". A total of 53 allegations against him were found "proved" including dishonestly adding to the case notes of 14 patients, botching operations, not diagnosing infections, failing to consult colleagues and not obtaining patient consent. The General Medical Council also confirmed a patient had a leg amputated below the right knee after a procedure carried out by Mr Parker went awry. Christian Beadell from Fletchers Solicitors, which is representing former patients in a class action, said East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust (ESNEFT) had not answered questions over whether it had initiated a recall process to determine the number patients harmed. "It's difficult to say how many patients have been injured by him," Mr Beadell said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 March 2023
  6. News Article
    Artificial intelligence could help NHS surgeons perform 300 more transplant operations every year, according to British researchers who have designed a new tool to boost the quality of donor organs. Currently, medical staff must rely on their own assessments of whether an organ may be suitable for transplanting into a patient. It means some organs are picked that ultimately do not prove successful, while others that might be useful can be disregarded. Now experts have developed a pioneering method that uses AI to effectively score potential organs by comparing them to images of tens of thousands of other organs used in transplant operations. The project is being backed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which has almost 7,000 people in the UK on its waiting list for a transplant. “We at NHSBT are extremely committed to making this exciting venture a success,” said Prof Derek Manas, the organ donation and transplantation medical director of NHSBT. “This is an exciting development in technological infrastructure that, once validated, will enable surgeons and transplant clinicians to make more informed decisions about organ usage and help to close the gap between those patients waiting for and those receiving lifesaving organs.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 March 2023
  7. Content Article
    “Yes.” This was the dismaying response of consultant breast surgeon, Mr Hemant Ingle, when asked at a talk, hosted by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI), whether he thought another scandal on the scale of that caused by Ian Paterson could unfold today. Disgraced breast surgeon Paterson is currently serving a 20-year sentence after unnecessarily operating on over 1,200 patients at NHS and private hospitals in the West Midlands area between 1997 and 2011. Three months into my first year of General Practice Specialty Training, I sat in that auditorium utterly stunned at Mr Ingle’s candour. Was it pessimism or devastating realism? Having watched the appalling events unfold in a screening of the ITV documentary ‘Bodies of Evidence: The Butcher Surgeon’, we were honoured to be joined by a panel of experts, including Debbie Douglas, one of the indescribably courageous patients who helped to expose Paterson. Over the next hour, the panel unpacked the factors deemed to have enabled Paterson’s actions, his potential motives and the consequences of the subsequent inquiry for society at large. It made for disturbing listening. Having trained entirely within the public sector, as all new medical graduates must do in the UK, I was completely ignorant to the circumstances within private hospitals which had catalysed Paterson’s reign of terror. I had no idea that private hospitals bore no responsibility for the patients treated within their walls, that doctors working in such hospitals often had no requirement to adhere to otherwise national guidance on healthcare provision, that private hospitals may have no facility to provide adequate emergency treatment to those suffering medical complications after procedures performed on their own premises. Before that evening, I had never before heard a patient state so heartbreakingly that they struggled to trust medical professionals. That disquieting symposium was not my first exposure to the sinister side of medicine. Seeking supplementary education in a field strikingly neglected in my own core undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, I had, just a few weeks before the CHPI event, joined a webinar hosted by the British Society of Sexual Medicine (BSSM). One of the presenters was a patient who had experienced first-hand the pernicious effects of vaginal mesh insertion. Whilst her story had a positive outcome, other vaginal mesh patients have not been so fortunate. Thousands of women continue to suffer from chronic pain, fatigue and urinary dysfunction, amongst countless other symptoms. Through subsequent investigations, it has emerged that vaginal mesh manufacturers had significant financial links to clinicians, researchers and Royal Colleges, and that side effects and complications were widely under-reported. Campaigns such as Sling The Mesh, founded by Kath Sansom, ensure that this landscape is changing, but it should not have come to this. I’m not sure how to feel any more. I’ve spent a lot of time with doctors over the last eleven years. At sixth form, I would send countless unsolicited emails to consultants at local hospitals, pleading for the chance to observe their surgeries, to shadow their ward rounds. Throughout university, I scribbled down every word of juniors, registrars, consultants, hoovering each crumb of knowledge that might make me the best doctor that I could be. Since I graduated in 2020, and started working as a Foundation Year Doctor in London, these professionals have become my peers, my colleagues, my 'bosses'. Whilst of course, some have been more personable, more welcoming, than others, I have thankfully never had the misfortune of encountering a character like Paterson. In Ipsos' 'Global Trustworthiness Index', most recently released in October 2021, doctors were ranked highest in 28 countries, with over 70% of UK respondents believing us to be the most reliable of all professionals. This was the mindset in which I trained; I felt comfortable and worthy of such an accolade. I want to be the person that patients can rely on at their most vulnerable, that relatives feel they can approach with any worry, large or small. To hear now that, for entirely good reason, the implicit confidence that the public had in their medical professionals is no longer a guarantee, made me feel rather unsteady. How do I feel about being part of a profession in which such deceit can go unchallenged? Do I want to be associated with 'experts' who fail to acknowledge the legitimate anxieties of their patients? I'm not going to leave medicine. Fortunately, the Patersons of the world are hugely outnumbered by respectable, conscientious, genuine, caring doctors – those that do earn the premier spot in an Ipsos poll. However, I do think that I have been naïve. Whilst Paterson’s actions are deplorable, a single ‘rogue’ surgeon can be dealt with. This is not to downplay the absolute devastation and anguish that he has caused his patients and their loved ones, and not to diminish the fact that his ousting took far too many attempts from those bold enough to question him, and not nearly enough support from those who should have held him accountable. It is the systemic failures which allowed Paterson to operate unmonitored, which enabled vaginal mesh surgeries to continue unchecked, which permitted side effects to go unrecorded, that I find so unsettlingly insidious. Whether these repeated failures in the healthcare system are underpinned only by financial motives, by greed, as seems the most obvious explanation, we may never know, and perhaps finding reason should not be our priority. As a doctor, my duty is to advocate. Fortuitously for themselves and those whom they are now able to advise and support, both Debbie Douglas and the patient featured in the BSSM webinar are intelligent, well-spoken, confident women. Others affected by the scandals mentioned here, and countless more that are not, may not be so well-equipped. Those who are perhaps older, less educated, who do not speak English as a first language, with other medical conditions rendering them less able to campaign, rely on others to do so on their behalf. This is only one piece of the jigsaw – in order for patients to request help, they must know who is able to help them, and must feel secure and empowered to ask for assistance. Similarly, doctors must feel emboldened in discussing issues with appropriate colleagues. This is not necessarily easy. A conversation after the CHPI panel discussion highlighted how GPs in particular, often mistakenly viewed as lesser doctors, may feel pressured to maintain respect for themselves within the medical profession and, thus, be reluctant to escalate patient concerns for fear of ridicule from secondary or tertiary care. It goes without saying that such anxiety should never alter the care we provide to patients. However, this perceived imbalance of medical aptitude, resulting in such a discrepancy in the level of esteem to which medical professionals are held, is just one example of a saddening toxic facet of the medical world. This is also reflected in the response to whistleblowers, both in the moment and through the lasting effect on a professional’s career, as exemplified by Mr Hemant Ingle speaking of the hospital that previously employed both himself and Paterson: “They don’t like me, of course they don’t”. Only by changing this mindset, and curating a more supportive, protective, transparent culture, where healthcare professionals of all levels and types can freely voice concerns, can we ever hope to avoid such disasters in the future. So, in real terms, what should I do as a training GP? Put simply, I must abide by the GMC’s ‘Duties of a Doctor’. Firstly, I must remain aware and knowledgeable of current biomedical and medicolegal affairs to ensure that I do not inadvertently, even if innocently, reassure or dismiss patient concerns through ignorance. Attending regular knowledge update courses and accessing appropriate journal articles are more formal avenues of learning, but I should supplement these by keeping abreast of health news in popular media, such that I may pre-empt problems with which patients may present. This is all with the understanding that I must never act beyond the limits of my competence and must never allow fear of criticism to prevent me from seeking advice, whether this is from more senior colleagues, supervisors or specialist doctors. For my patients, and indeed for colleagues who may come to me with their own queries, I should reciprocate by remaining approachable and sympathetic. My interactions with colleagues and patients alike should take place in a partnership model – while of course there are many times when hierarchy can be appropriate, I aspire to be the doctor who equips her patients to become experts in their own health and to advocate for themselves. I will strive to communicate with patients in formats appropriate to each individual. Once a patient has chosen to trust me, I must be mindful of the fact that trust can just as easily be lost as gained. I shall keep patient safety at the fore by following GMC guidance on raising and acting upon concerns, reporting any adverse effects of medication or treatment that are divulged to me, obeying my duty of candour if I believe a patient to have been placed at risk, not allowing any conflicts of interest to influence patient care, and acting with overarching honesty and integrity. Yes, another Paterson-level scandal could, and will almost certainly, unfold again. However, if I aspire to achieve each aim outlined above, I will indeed become the kind of doctor that sixteen-year-old me held in such high regard. Until we fix the system, all I can do is my best.
  8. News Article
    A woman who underwent needless surgery at the hands of convicted surgeon Ian Paterson said patient safety was still not being prioritised. Paterson was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent in 2017 and was jailed for 20 years. Debbie Douglas, who now campaigns for his victims, said more still needed to be done following a damning report. In December, the Department for Health said it was making "good progress" on changes. The inquiry, published in 2020, made 15 recommendations and Ms Douglas called on health chiefs to "get on" with the improvements. "It's three years and technically none of the recommendations are closed," she said. "It's all around patient safety and it's not being given the priority it deserves." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 February 2023
  9. News Article
    A Norfolk surgeon who left two patients with life-changing injuries has received a formal warning by a disciplinary panel. Camilo Valero Valdivieso was found guilty of "serious misconduct" by an independent medical panel after two operations went wrong in six days. One of his patients, Paul Tooth, 65, said his life was "a constant struggle" since his operation in January 2020. However, the panel found the surgeon had "learned from these events". The findings from the Medical Practitioners Service (MPTS) panel said that his actions had "risked damaging public confidence in the profession". It heard that he twice "misinterpreted the anatomy" - on one occasion severing a patient's gallbladder. The panel also concluded Mr Valero's fitness to practise was not currently impaired, allowing him to continue working. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 February 2023
  10. News Article
    A prolific surgeon accused of poor care — some with a ‘catastrophic outcome’ — and altering patient notes has been found guilty of misconduct following a tribunal hearing. Jeremy Parker, who performed hundreds of operations at Colchester Hospital and the private Oaks Hospital until his suspension in 2019, faced a misconduct hearing in December and January. The medical practitioners tribunal investigated allegations that between August 2015 and November 2018, Mr Parker failed to provide good clinical care to six patients. It was also alleged he performed surgery in breach of restrictions on his clinical practice between October 2018 and January 2019 and that his actions were dishonest. Richard Holland, opening the tribunal case for the General Medical Council, said Mr Parker’s care of six patients – referred to as patients A-F – was “deficient” in a number of ways, with that provided to patient A leading to a “catastrophic outcome” where their leg was amputated below the right knee following “catastrophic blood loss” caused by severing of an artery during surgery. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 February 2022
  11. News Article
    A further 1,500 patients of convicted breast surgeon Ian Paterson are to be recalled and their treatment investigated. Spire Healthcare, which runs private hospitals, said patients were being contacted after a trawl of IT systems. Paterson was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for 17 counts of wounding people with intent. The healthcare provider said it remained committed to tracking down all "outstanding patients". The former surgeon subjected hundreds of patients to needless and damaging surgery over 14 years. A 2020 independent inquiry ruled "a culture of avoidance and denial" left him free to perform botched operations in NHS and private hospitals in Birmingham and Solihull. The inquiry recommended all 11,000 patients Paterson treated should be recalled for review. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 February 2023
  12. News Article
    An NHS surgeon has admitted to botching patients’ surgeries which left them with life-changing injuries, a tribunal has heard. Dr Camillo Valero, who works at Norfolk and Norwich NHS trust and is facing allegations over his conduct towards three patients, has been admitted to severing a patient’s gallbladder during an operation. Dr Valero is facing a medical practitioner’s tribunal where he already admitted to failures during two patients’ procedures. Allegations against him include a failure to obtain a “critical view of safety” for his patients during surgeries. He is also accused of shouting at patients during an altercation in an allegedly “aggressive” manner. According to a tribunal document he was accused of asking the patient “are you a doctor?” when discussing his medication. During surgery, Dr Valero is alleged to have misinterpreted the patient’s anatomy or sought assistance from an experienced surgeon following mistakes. In the case of the third patient, allegations which have not been admitted or proven, Dr Valero is reported to have inappropriately discharged a patient with learning disabilities and did not adequately assess their mental capacity. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 January 2023
  13. News Article
    John Watkinson was one of the country's top ear, nose and throat surgeons. But Mr Watkinson's life and career were turned upside down when he was accused of shortening the lives of three patients, suspended and investigated. General Medical Council investigators would eventually close his case, taking no further action, and Mr Watkinson would receive an apology for what he had experienced from his employer University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust. But that was six years after he was first suspended - six years that would see him pushed to the brink. "As doctors, we're trained in communication skills, we have appraisals, mandatory training," he says. "But the one thing we're not trained to cope with is when somebody declares war on you." The hospital trust stands by its decision to suspend Mr Watkinson and says its referral to the General Medical Council was "appropriately made following a clinical colleague raising significant concerns" about patient care. UHB has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with reviews launched into its culture, leadership, and allegations of poor patient care aired in a Newsnight investigation late last year. It says a review into patient care is now well under way. Mr Watkinson says he was at the sharp end of this culture when he was suspended and suddenly went "from hero to zero". He accepts mistakes were made, but not just by him and not ones that would have affected the patients' outcomes. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 January 2023
  14. Content Article
    December issue Delphi Study Round One – A study across NHS England Hospital Trust operating theatres. Managing NHS backlogs and waiting times in England. Steroid injections worsen knee arthritis, according to two new studies. First robotic hysterectomy completed in Wales. World’s first algae-based local anaesthetic another step closer to reality. How new bacterial species siscovered in Asian soil could help battle against antibiotic resistance November issue New research calls for all health and care staff to be trained in AI Reducing noise in operating theatre improves children’s behaviour after surgery, study finds Brain tumour patient operated on awake while playing saxophone No difference between spinal versus general anaesthesia in patients having hip fracture surgery finds study October issue Why are intra-operative surgical Never Events still occurring in NHS operating theatres? Radical rethink needed to improve safety in health and social care. World Anaesthesia Day 2022: History, significance, celebrations and theme. £4 million “space-age” operating theatre will help bring down eye surgery backlog. Two thirds of nurses choosing between food and fuel as cost of living bites and one in five turn to food banks. ‘An inspirational story’: Hartlepool cleaner changes career to become hospital nurse. September issue Service evaluation of the current World Health Organisation’s Surgical Safety Checklist in spine surgery at the University Hospitals of Derby & Burton. Could this lead to a change in NHS Improvement? The Anaesthetic Gas Scavenging System Project. Cancelled operations could be prevented by an earlier anaemia test and time to prepare. The top 10 things experts need you to know about screening during Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month September 2022 £35.5m for New Friarage Hospital Operating Theatres. New robotic surgical system revolutionises patient care at UHCW. Insourcing: Giving NHS operating theatre teams a helping hand. Arterial stiffness raises blood pressure in adolescents via insulin resistance. Birmingham’s Public Health Chief is among sector leaders to receive university honours,
  15. News Article
    A new survey of more than 1,000 surgeons across the USA reiterates concerns that impending cuts to surgical care, set to take effect on 1 January 1 2023, will lead to a decrease in Medicare patient intake, increased delays to care, and longer wait times for patients in surgical practices. These survey results support the efforts of the over one million physician and non-physician healthcare providers joining together in urging congressional leadership to stop the full cut to Medicare payments through a Week of Action. "Our survey results confirm that the impending cuts to Medicare payments will be disastrous for patients and their access to life-saving and life-altering care," said Patricia L. Turner, American College of Surgeons Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. "As our population continues to age, more and more seniors depend on Medicare to receive the care they need. Congressional leadership must protect patients by stopping the full cut to Medicare payments so healthcare providers can focus on delivering high-quality care to patients." The survey, conducted for the American College of Surgeons, a founding member of the Surgical Care Coalition, found: Around two-thirds of members expect patients will be faced with delays to care (68%) or longer wait times (65%). These are up from 56% and 57%, respectively, in 2021. One-in-three (33%) members say there will be a change in their Medicare patient intake if the cuts were to go into effect, up from 25% in 2021. 20% say they expect to take on fewer new Medicare patients, but that they will keep all existing Medicare patients. While members report feeling the impact from supply chain issues and inflation, surgeons are also sounding the siren around healthcare worker shortages. Over nine-in-ten (93%) report healthcare worker shortages impacting their ability to provide high quality care over the last year. Over three-quarters (77%) report "a great deal of impact" from these shortages. Read full story Source: CISION PR Newswire, 9 December 2022
  16. News Article
    A consultant orthopaedic surgeon who carried out double the average number of knee and hip operations over a three year-period is facing a tribunal over alleged misconduct and more than 100 legal cases lodged by former patients, HSJ has been told. Jeremy Parker, who performed hundreds of operations at Colchester Hospital and the private Oaks Hospital until his suspension in 2019, is currently appearing before a misconduct hearing. The tribunal is investigating allegations that between August 2015 and November 2018, Mr Parker failed to provide good clinical care to six patients. It has also been alleged that Mr Parker performed surgery in breach of restrictions on his clinical practice between October 2018 and January 2019 and that his actions were dishonest. The trauma and orthopaedic surgeon is also facing allegations that he added pre-typed operation notes to approximately 14 patients’ records ahead of an invited review into his clinical practice by the Royal College of Surgeons, without indicating they had been made retrospectively. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 December 2022
  17. News Article
    A consultant surgeon refused to attend hospital to carry out urgent surgery at a trust which later had upper gastrointestinal surgery suspended after an unannounced Care Quality Commission visit. The CQC report into upper GI surgery at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton – based on an inspection in August – said incident reports revealed occasions when upper GI surgeons could not be contacted or refused to come into hospital to treat patients. In one case, a consultant would not come in to carry out urgent surgery, it added. Low numbers of surgeons meant the on-call rota for upper GI was shared with the lower GI surgeons. This meant an upper GI specialist was not always available immediately, despite guidance from a professional body that 24/7 subspecialty cover was needed at centres which carry out major resectional surgery. This surgery was suspended at the RSCH after the August inspection and has yet to be reinstated. Mortality at both 30 and 90 days for patients with oesophago-gastric cancer was twice the national average between 2017 and 2020 – though the trust was not an outlier – and there was an increasing number of emergency readmissions for patients who had undergone upper GI surgery, the report said. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 December 2022
  18. News Article
    A damning report has highlighted failures in how NHS Tayside oversaw a surgeon who harmed patients for years. Prof Eljamel, the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside in Dundee, harmed dozens of patients before he was suspended in 2013. The internal Scottish government report into Prof Sam Eljamel, which has been leaked to the BBC, said the health board repeatedly let patients down. It outlined failures in the way Prof Eljamel was supervised and the board's communication with patients. The report was commissioned last year over unanswered questions and concerns from patients Jules Rose and Pat Kelly. Mr Kelly has been left housebound and Ms Rose has PTSD after the neurosurgeon removed the wrong part of her body. After her operation in 2013, Ms Rose discovered that Prof Eljamel had taken out the wrong part of her body. He removed her tear gland instead of a tumour on her brain. She still has not been told exactly when health bosses knew he was a risk to patients. The latest Scottish government report said she should receive an apology. The written apology she received from the board last month said it was sorry she "feels" there has been a breakdown in trust. "I actually rejected the apology," she said. Ms Rose said she wanted the chairwoman of the health board to explain why it will not offer a "whole-hearted apology" for its failures. Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith called for a public inquiry, saying there had been a lack of accountability and the investigation had still not got to the truth. Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 November 2022
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