Hospital recalls 217 surgery patients

A SCANDAL-HIT hospital has recalled more than 200 patients over concerns that unnecessary operations have been carried out by a second senior doctor.

Spire Healthcare said 217 patients who were treated by Habib Rahman, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Spire Parkway Hospital, Solihull, have been offered case review consultations.

The hospital in the West Midlands has previously been embroiled in controversy after another surgeon who had practised there, Ian Paterson, was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for wounding patients by performing unnecessary procedures.

It is understood Mr Rahman had his practice at the hospital suspended and subsequently withdrawn last year, during which time he was investigated by the Royal College of Surgeons.

He is still working for the NHS under “interim conditions”, a spokesman for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said, but no patients have been recalled.

Spire Healthcare said in a statement: “Following the Royal College’s guidance, we wrote to all shoulder patients who were identified as requiring follow up to offer them a consultation with an independent surgeon to review their care and to understand more about their post-operative recovery. That process is still ongoing.

“We would encourage patients who have received a letter to follow up on our offer of a free review by an independent specialist to ensure their care has been as expected.”

A former patient, who asked not to be named, has claimed that she was told she had undergone two unnecessary operations in the space of just two months.

The 52-year-old woman had been referred to Mr Rahman by her GP after suffering from pains in her shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome, Thompsons Solicitors, representing her, said.

It is claimed Mr Rahman first performed a shoulder manipulation on the woman in June 2017, followed by another one under general anaesthetic in August. She was referred to a separate surgeon when these operations were unsuccessful, her solicitors said.

She received a letter from Spire in Dec 2019 inviting her to a meeting, where she was told the procedures were unnecessary, according to the lawyers.

“Not only was I told my surgeries were unnecessary, but that the type of surgery I’d received from Mr Rahman wasn’t his specialist field,” said the woman in a statement released by the law firm. “I trusted him,” she added. “He was dressed smartly and was very charming. I had no reason to doubt anything he said.”

Linda Millband, clinical negligence lead at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “A second patient recall and another rogue surgeon operating unnecessarily at Mr Paterson’s old private hospital suggests systemic failings.

“This could be the tip of the iceberg, so we encourage others who feel they have received similar unnecessary care from Mr Habib Rahman or indeed any other surgeon at a Spire hospital to come forward.

“We are committed through our Patients Before Profits campaign to expose poor patient treatment at private hospitals and are determined that Spire do not get away with brushing yet another recall under what must be a pretty big carpet by now.”

Findings of an independent inquiry into Mr Paterson, who practised at Spire hospitals across the West Midlands, are due to be published soon.