Cancer surgeon nicknamed ‘God’ faces care inquiry
ONE of Britain’s most high-profile cancer surgeons is under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) and could be struck off following concerns at his methods. The move lays bare the ethical complexity of life-saving cancer treatment in private healthcare.
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that Prof Justin Stebbing, who has treated Lynda Bellingham and Sir Michael Parkinson among other celebrities, has had practising privileges permanently withdrawn by some Harley Street clinics.
HCA, the country’s largest private care provider, has informed Prof Stebbing’s patients that from September they will no longer be allowed to receive treatment from a man who has published more than 550 peer-reviewed papers and been nicknamed “God” by some former patients.
The Telegraph understands HCA made its decision in March after it found Prof Stebbing breached “clinical governance” guidelines that had been put in place around him at its London clinic, Leaders in Oncology Care (LOC).
It is understood this relates to attempts to give chemotherapy to a patient close to end of life, against the advice of colleagues.
Prof Stebbing’s aggressive treatment for terminally ill patients up to the very end is a hallmark of his clinical practice and has made him one of the most sought-after doctors on Harley Street, but also has been controversial. In a separate development at a tribunal in Manchester on May 25, the GMC placed Prof Stebbing under ongoing investigation over his fitness to practise and ruled he must be supervised in all of his clinical posts until November next year. The outcome could mean Prof Stebbing is struck off, though it is understood this is “only a possibility”.
Although the GMC will not reveal details of its investigation, The Telegraph has seen copies of letters sent by a whistleblower over the past year to the GMC and Care Quality Commission (CQC), raising concerns about Prof Stebbing’s private medical practice procedures in several clinics. These include asking patients to fund their own treatment using expensive immunotherapy drugs beyond the remit of their licence, supervising chemotherapy regimes “outside his area of expertise” and adopting a “gung ho approach” to patient care and management.
Prof Stebbing denies these allegations and through his lawyers has presented The Telegraph with testimonies from patients and colleagues on the efficacy of his work.
Leading insurers, including Bupa and Aviva Health, have suspended
Prof Stebbing from their network of recognised consultants, whose treatments they will fund until the GMC has concluded its investigation.
His fiercely loyal patients have this week spoken of the “huge distress” caused by the decision.
The whistleblower’s letters to the GMC and CQC claim in 2015 Prof Steb- bing treated patients at the London Claremont Clinic with an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab, known by the brand name Keytruda, beyond the remit of its licence at a cost of £19,500 per dose, which they were required to fund themselves. The final row that prompted HCA to remove practising privileges from Prof Stebbing centred around his patient, New Zealand brewing magnate Sir Douglas Myers. Sir Douglas, who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer but died this April, had paid for thrice-weekly shots of pembrolizumab at about £27,000 a go. He had said he would take legal action against HCA if Prof Stebbing was expelled.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says pembrolizumab is licensed across Europe to treat a limited scope of cancers. Doctors are permitted to prescribe drugs beyond their licence if deemed in the best interests of the patient and they are prepared to take responsibility for the outcome.
But the letter to the GMC alleges Prof Stebbing prescribed the drug “indiscriminately” and with an “absence of trial data and clinical assessments”.
The accusations are not criminal but ethical and expose the controversy about the unregulated nature of private cancer treatment and whether new immunotherapy drugs give patients“false hope”.
Prof Stebbing insists he has always operated within his profession’s ethical guidelines and has been praised by his patients for his “warrior-like” approach. The Claremont Clinic insisted his use of pembrolizumab has always complied with MHRA protocols.
Through his lawyers Prof Stebbing said the decision to remove his practising privileges was taken following a disagreement over the treatment of a patient. He stressed that he has “never coerced a nurse or colleague” to treat someone in his care and none of his patients has received treatment without informed consent.