Probe into deaths of 13 more patients of jailed ‘butcher’ breast surgeon
Reason to believe deaths ‘caused or contributed to’ by Paterson
THIRTEEN new inquests have been opened into the deaths of former patients of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson.
Paterson, 62, who operated at NHS and Spire Healthcare hospitals in the West Midlands, was convicted in 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.
An inquiry later found he carried out unnecessary operations on more than 1,000 patients over 14 years, exaggerating or inventing cancer risks and claiming payments for more expensive procedures.
His 2017 Nottingham Crown Court trial heard how he carried out unapproved ‘cleavage-sparing’ mastectomies on patients which left behind breast tissue, risking a return of cancer.
He was initially jailed for 15 years, before the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to a 20-year term.
Paterson lost a 2021 bid to the same court to challenge his conviction, where three senior judges heard Paterson “denied, and indeed continues to deny, the misconduct of which he was accused at his trial”.
In January 2020, West Midlands Police asked Birmingham and Solihull senior coroner Louise Hunt to look at a “random selection” of 23 former patients of Paterson, to decide whether any died of unnatural causes due to “potentially substandard treatment”.
In July 2020, inquests into the deaths of seven of those patients were then opened and adjourned but the coronial investigation has been continuing, beyond that original selection of cases.
The further inquests opened and adjourned at Birmingham Coroner’s Court recently were into the deaths of:
■ Catherine Coyne, 51, who was a married, retired data protection officer from Solihull. She died of cancer at her home in Hampton Coppice, Solihull, in February 2008.
■ Eunice Jones – known as Pam – a 47-year-old wife from Knowle, Solihull, who died of breast cancer at Solihull Hospital in 2004.
■ Rosemarie Blake, a married care assistant from Erdington, who was 56 when she died of cancer in 1997 at Good Hope Hospital.
■ Elaine Turbill, of Castle Bromwich, a married, retired legal secretary who was 63 when she died of breast cancer at her home in 2017.
■ Pauline Clarke, of Silhill Hall Road, Solihull, who died of breast cancer in June 1998 at her home. She was a married, retired midwifery nurse.
■ Virginia Holder, of Colonial Road, Birmingham, who was a widowed, retired assembly worker. She died, aged 72, at a hospice in Solihull from breast cancer in 2001.
■ Phyllis Colfer, of Vera Road, Birmingham, who was a retired traffic warden. The 67-year-old died at a nursing home as a result of cancer in 2002.
■ Christine Skelcher, of Shard End, a married office clerk, who was 59 when she died at home in 2004 from breast cancer.
■ Olive Bayliss, of Lea Hall Road, Birmingham, who was a married, retired cleaner. She was 75 when she died at the Marie Curie Hospice in Warwick Road, Birmingham, in 2001, from breast cancer.
■ Isobel Chandler, from Solihull, who was a married secretary. She was 51 years-old when she died at Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, in 2001. The cause of death was given as metastatic breast cancer.
■ Christine Hill, of Stratford Road, Solihull, was an 81-year-old wife. She died at home in 2010, of metastatic breast cancer.
■ Deborah Preston, of Foxhollies Road, Acocks Green, who was a married 42-year-old. She died of breast cancer at Heartlands Hospital in 2004.
■ Jean Bonehill, of Sutton Coldfield, a retired office clerk who died of breast cancer, aged 72, at her home in August 1998.
Ms Hunt repeated the same remark about all 13 people: “I do have reason to believe the deceased’s death was caused or contributed to by substandard treatment provided by Mr Paterson and other clinicians involved in the care of the deceased.”
Future inquests will consider “any failings in supervision” of Paterson, including by “clinical colleagues” and whether they “should have informed the appropriate authorities”.
The inquests will also examine whether there were “systemic failings by hospital management... in addressing and responding to concerns raised about Mr Paterson. Any inaction or failure of supervision by the regulatory agencies... any failings in the culture at the hospitals where Mr Paterson worked (and)... any failings in the recall system of patients”.
She stressed to loved ones of those attending the openings that the adjournments were “pending the review of all the other cases”, after which there would be a pre-inquest review.
The final inquests would “likely” be held under Article 2 human rights provisions “given the apparent serious defaults by a number of state organisations”, said Ms Hunt, meaning the coroner would be looking at the wider circumstances of the deaths.
Ms Hunt added: “It is my duty to ensure the relevant facts will be fully, fairly and fearlessly investigated and it’s likely a report to prevent future deaths will be considered.’’
An independent inquiry published in February 2020 said Paterson performed unnecessary operations amid a “dysfunctional” healthcare system that failed patients, and recommending more than 11,000 of his patients be recalled.
I do have reason to believe the deaths were caused or contributed to by substandard treatment provided by Mr Paterson Coroner