Almost 300 women are contacted as part of investigation

To date, nearly 300 women treated and operated on by Mr Hay between the years 2015 and 2018 have been contacted as part of investigations by the trust and NHS England into his practice.

This was after his own colleagues raised concerns with the trust over Mr Hay’s practice in late 2018.

The trust’s investigation into these allegations started more than a year later, in April 2020.

In the organisation’s initial review of 57 female patients it reportedly found eight cases where there was a “lapse in care” from Mr Hay which resulted in “unnecessary harm”.

It then asked NHS England to conduct an independent investigation of Mr Hay’s wider work between 2015 and 2018 which saw 136 additional women, all of which had had “major obstetric or gynaecological intervention” – such as hysterectomies.

In September, the trust announced that a further 79 women, who had received intermediate care such as a diagnostic test between April 2017 and June 2018, had been contacted, taking the total number involved to date to 272.

An anonymised report on the investigation is due to be published later this year.

Mr Hay has not carried out “clinical activity” at the trust, it says, since June 2018 and has since left the organisation.

He told The Times that he has retired and had suffered with mental health issues which required him to stop practising medicine.

Mr Hay remains on the specialist register with the General Medical Council.