Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£37M FUND FOR VICTIMS OF HORROR OP DOCTOR
Payouts for 750 patients treated by disgraced Ulster medic
AROUND 750 patients treated by a disgraced breast surgeon from Ulster will receive compensation from a £37million fund.
Ian Paterson, from Bangor, Co Down was jailed for 20 years after he was found guilty in April at a Nottingham court of 17 counts of wounding with intent.
Spire Healthcare, which runs private hospitals across the UK, will contribute £27.2million to the fund.
Legal firm Slater and Gordon, which represents more than 100 of Paterson’s victims, welcomed the compensation.
A lawyer said: “No financial settlement will ever heal the physical and mental scars inflicted on our clients but they are relieved they have finally won their battle for justice.
“Even when Paterson was charged and convicted earlier this year, Spire refused to countenance they were responsible for his actions despite his crimes taking place in their hospitals. As a result, his victims have
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faced a long wait not knowing whether they would be compensated for the pain he caused them.”
Around £10million will be provided to the payout fund by co-defendants including Paterson’s insurers.
More than 500 patients had been due to take their case to the High Court next month.
In its statement, Spire said the deal was conditional on all parties agreeing, and the court approving, the terms of a formal court order. It added it “will conclude all current and known claims from patients against Spire Healthcare and its co-defendants, Ian Paterson and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust”.
It said: “The order will also provide for a portion of the fund to be set aside to provide compensation for any former patient of Mr Paterson who has not yet brought a legitimate claim against Spire Healthcare and the other defendants but does so prior to October 30, 2018.”
During the trial, it emerged the surgeon, who treated thousands during his career, exaggerated or invented cancer risks and claimed payments for more expensive procedures.
He also carried out hundreds of unnecessary operations on NHS patients.
The NHS has so far paid more than £17 million in compensation for victims.
Paterson was initially jailed for 15 years but this was extended to 20 years in August after Court of Appeal judges ruled the sentence was “unduly lenient”.
His trial heard from nine women and one man who were treated in the private sector at Little Aston and Parkway Hospitals in the West Midlands between 1997 and 2011.
Victims said Paterson’s crimes had left them in constant pain and struggling to trust medical professionals.
Spire’s interim chief Simon Gordon apologised to patients for their suffering.
He said: “Whilst nothing diminishes Mr Paterson’s responsibility for his actions, these events took place in our hospitals and this should not have happened.
“We accept better clinical governance in the private hospitals where Mr Paterson practised, as well as in his NHS trust, might have led to action being taken sooner, and it is right we have made a material contribution to the settlement announced today.”