Health officials are recalling a further 1,500 patients of the jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson, more than two decades after he treated them, after the discovery of an old IT database.
Paterson was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for 17 counts of wounding people with intent after he subjected more than 1,000 patients to unnecessary and damaging operations over 14 years.
In one of the most horrific medical scandals in the history of the NHS, Paterson was free to perform harmful surgery in the health service and private hospitals because of “a culture of avoidance and denial” in a “dysfunctional” healthcare system where there was “wilful blindness” to his behaviour.
About 5,500 of his patients have been contacted in recent years to have their care reviewed. Now another 1,500 will have their treatment investigated after Spire Healthcare, which runs private hospitals, uncovered their details on legacy IT systems it said had been thought to be inaccessible.
In a statement, Spire said the discovery of the previously unidentified patients came after checks were carried out to be “certain that there were no outstanding patients who might require support, dating back to the earliest years of his practice”.
“To do this, [Spire] revisited historic legacy IT systems, in use between 1993 and the early 2000s, containing information about patients from over 20 years ago which had been thought to be inaccessible,” the statement said. “However, following a further complex analysis of these legacy systems, Spire was able to identify the details of around 1,500 patients. These patients will now be contacted by Spire Healthcare and, where appropriate, offered a review of the treatment they received by Paterson over 20 years ago and support.”
Paterson is known to have treated thousands of patients at Spire Parkway hospital and Spire Little Aston hospital in the West Midlands between 1997 and 2011. This was alongside his work at NHS hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS foundation trust.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been absolutely committed to identifying, tracking down and contacting all living patients of Ian Paterson, regardless of when they were treated,” said Dr Cathy Cale, Spire’s group medical director. “We are very sorry for the significant distress and harm suffered by patients who were treated by Ian Paterson.”
Linda Millband, head of clinical negligence at Thompsons Solicitors, which has represented hundreds of Paterson’s clients, said: “We are years on from Paterson being exposed as a threat to people’s health and we are years on from him being convicted – yet here we have another patient recall by Spire Healthcare. The fact that 1,500 patients could have been missed off both previous recalls shows how extensively Spire enabled Paterson to practise.
“For patients who have suffered from his negligence and for those who have lost loved ones, this recall will bring back bitter memories. For those being alerted for the first time there will be shock and worry.
“You would have thought that after two recalls Spire would not have left any stone unturned, yet they missed at least 1,500 people due to a computer glitch. It begs the question – ‘what next’?”
Spire said anyone concerned about treatment by Paterson should call its freephone helpline on 0800 085 8130 or visit its website, spirehealthcare.com
