Negligent care by hospital consultants: Spire Healthcare works to minimise adverse patient outcomes

Posted: 01/08/2023

Over the last few years, concerns have been raised about several surgeons who practised at Spire Healthcare hospitals - although none of them exclusively. The most well known investigations have related to Ian Paterson, Anthony Dixon and John Hutchinson but Spire is also looking into care provided by John Williamson and Munawar Shah. 

The issues surrounding Mr Paterson, a breast surgeon, have been in the open for some years and resulted in a public enquiry and ultimately Mr Paterson receiving a custodial prison sentence. He was found to have performed hundreds of unnecessary and inappropriate procedures on patients, many of whom had surgery at Spire Little Aston and Spire Parkway hospitals. Spire has been pro-active in looking into the care provided by Mr Paterson and notifying patients of concerns. A large number have subsequently pursued clinical negligence claims arising out of this improper care.  

In 2019 Spire launched an investigation into consultant colorectal surgeon Anthony Dixon, who worked from its Bristol hospital, which similarly focused on patients undergoing unnecessary and inappropriate treatment, particularly laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy. Again, many former patients have since instigated claims relating to the performance and consequences of such surgery when it was not needed. Spinal surgeon John Hutchinson also worked out of Spire Bristol and Spire initiated a patient notification exercise in the same year in light of concerns being raised about his practice – in this case specifically the technical performance of some of the spinal surgery that he carried out. The situation relating to Mr Hutchinson went beyond concerns about the clinical care provided to include questions over his coding and charging for procedures. In 2021 the General Medical Council restricted his practice and a hearing by the GMC medical tribunal is now underway.  

Mr Williamson, a spinal surgeon practising out of Spire Manchester, has also been the subject of Spire’s investigations, although the profile relating to Mr Williamson arises largely out of his conduct at Salford Royal Hospital which is run by the NHS. The other current notification relates to orthopaedic surgeon Mr Shah, who practises at Spire Little Aston. Again his NHS practice at Walsall Manor Hospital has been the main area of publicised concern, with the NHS hospital setting up a specific helpline for patients worried about their care and outcomes from surgery performed by him as well as carrying out an investigation. In each case, Spire has stopped working with the relevant consultant and taken steps to notify previous patients about the individual, exploring any concerns that they may have. 

Philippa Luscombe, partner in the clinical negligence team at Penningtons Manches Cooper, comments: “We have been contacted by former patients of each of these surgeons and have been instructed in a number of cases involving care that they provided – both in the private sector and under the NHS. They all raise some very serious questions. 

“One troubling factor is that issues with a particular surgeon take time to be identified and addressed, meaning more patients are put at risk in the interim: the numbers of patients affected by the actions of these surgeons would tend to support that concern. However, it is clear that where Spire has become aware of concerns about an individual, whether in their private or NHS practice, it does have a policy of open patient notifications and taking steps to remove surgeons from their list. This will be of reassurance to current and future patients. Likewise, the various NHS hospitals that employed these surgeons have taken action to carry out comprehensive reviews and contact patients as well as involving the GMC in two instances.  

“These multiple cases highlight the importance of hospitals being quick to identify patterns of poor outcomes and to listen to staff and patients who raise concerns about a surgeon. The earlier that conduct issues such as these are recognised, the fewer patients will suffer adverse outcomes.”

Penningtons Manches Cooper’s clinical negligence team is happy to provide informal advice about potential or existing clinical negligence claims to former patients of  these surgeons - please email clinnegspecialist@penningtonslaw.com or call 0800 328 9545.

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