217 patients alerted over ‘needless’ ops by shoulder surgeon
HUNDREDS of patients were last night called in by a scandal-hit private hospital over fears a surgeon may have carried out unnecessary shoulder operations.
Mr Habib Rahman was dropped by Spire Healthcare but continues to work at an NHS hospital despite an ongoing inquiry into his practices.
The company confirmed 217 patients treated by the orthopaedic surgeon at the Spire Parkway in Solihull, West Midlands, have been offered a review of their care.
The private hospital was one of the places where surgeon Ian Paterson left patients disfigured. He was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for wounding after carrying out unnecessary breast operations on hundreds of patients.
A law firm yesterday revealed the latest ‘unnecessary or inappropriate surgery’ probe. Solicitor Linda Millband, who led the civil claims against Spire after the Paterson scandal, said: ‘A second patient recall and another rogue surgeon operating unnecessarily at Mr Paterson’s old private hospital suggests systemic failings.’
Mrs Millband represents an unnamed 52-year- old who was told she had two unnecessary operations in two months. She was referred to Mr Rahman by her GP as an NHS patient as she was suffering shoulder pains and carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve condition that affects the hand. After he performed two shoulder manipulations in six months that failed to solve her problem, she was referred to another consultant.
She was then told both her previous operations, which can cost around £5,000 each, had been unnecessary. An MRI scan has since indicated a tendon tear that could be linked to Mr Rahman’s treatment. ‘I trusted him,’ she said. ‘He was dressed smartly and was very charming.’
Thompsons Solicitors said Spire had not publicly dispretty closed a review of Mr Rahman’s patients so there was ‘no way of knowing how many people have been affected’. Mrs Millband said: ‘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.’
She said she was ‘determined Spire do not get away with brushing yet another recall under what must be a big carpet by now’. According to the law firm, a patient recall letter revealed the Royal College of Surgeons was commissioned to conduct an independent review into Mr Rahman’s practice.
This resulted in a recommendation that patients who received shoulder manipulation surgery from him should be assessed to see ‘whether their care was appropriate’.
Spire Healthcare said Mr Rahman had his work restricted in September 2018. He was suspended in January last year and this was made permanent in May.
‘We invited the Royal College of Surgeons to independently review Mr Rahman’s practice,’ said a spokesman. ‘Following the Royal College’s guidance, we wrote to all shoulder patients identified as requiring a follow-up to offer them a consultation with an independent surgeon.’
Meanwhile, Mr Rahman is employed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. A statement confirmed that he is still ‘ working with interim restrictions’ and none of his patients there have been recalled.
‘He was very charming’