NHS culture of denial left evil surgeon free to butcher
Inquiry chief slams ‘wilful blindness’
Picture: ANDY STENNING
LESLEY CUTHBERT 71-YEAR-OLD VICTIM OF ROGUE SURGEON
A ROGUE breast cancer surgeon was left free to butcher thousands of patients by a “dysfunctional” health system, an inquiry found.
Ian Paterson, 59, is serving a 20-year jail term for carrying out “needless” procedures on his victims.
He duped NHS and private patients into believing they could be seriously ill before convincing them to have ops.
The married surgeon was motivated by boosting his reputation and making cash from private work.
He spent the money on homes and trips, telling a victim: “I have to pay for holidays somehow.”
Concerns were first raised in 2003 but it was eight years before he was suspended.
Yesterday, Rev Graham James, chairman of an independent inquiry launched in 2018, said patients had been “let down over many years”.
He said Paterson was allowed to “hide in plain sight” and chances to stop him were missed “time after time”.
Rev James, ex-Bishop of Norwich, hinted at a cover-up and said he had passed on details to police. He added: “It seems to me to have gone beyond professional misconduct.”
He said five people have been referred to the General Medical Council or Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Between 1998 and 2011 Paterson treated 11,000 patients.
West Midlands Police and a coroner announced last month they are reviewing the deaths of 23 patients. His victims urged he be charged with manslaughter and “locked up for life”.
Alan Bridgewater’s wife Denise died from cancer in 2014 after having a “cleavage-sparing” mastectomy.
He believes she should be alive today, telling the BBC: “He’s an evil guy who was just out to make money for himself and people died.”
Lesley Cuthbert, 71, who was wrongly operated on, said he was a “monster”, adding: “This sort of thing can’t be allowed to happen again.”
Rev James said: “There was a culture of avoidance and denial. When patients complained to regulators they were frequently treated with disdain.”
The inquiry heard 177 “harrowing” victim accounts and from more than 100 corporate witnesses, many of whom “failed” to keep patients safe.
Rev James said there was a “wilful blindness”, adding: “Some could have known, some should have known – a few must have known.”
Health Minister Nadine Dorries said the Government “deeply regrets” the “failure of the entire healthcare system to protect patients”. Justin Ash, chief executive of Spire Healthcare, at which Paterson had practices, apologised for the “significant distress”.
Paterson, originally of Lower Peover, Cheshire, said he is appealing.
Paterson is a monster. This sort of thing can’t be allowed to happen again
He’s an evil guy who was just out to make money for himself & people died
ALAN BRIDGEWATER HIS WIFE DENISE DIED FROM CANCER