NHS Pays More Than £3m In Damages To Patients

Claire Mullane faces further surgery nearly three years after she paid £8,000 for a mastectomy performed by Ian Paterson, right. More than 100 women operated on have yet to be contacted

Sky News has learned that more than £3m in damages has been paid by the NHS to patients involved in a breast cancer surgery scandal.
Ian Paterson carried out hundreds of unnecessary and unregulated procedures on women while working for the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
Gail Boichat was wrongly diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 and was told she should have a mastectomy.
Later, she was told she'd never had cancer, something she still finds hard to come to terms with.
She said: "My mind won’t let me be grateful I’ve never had cancer because I’m trying to deal with this side of it.

"I try to put it out of my head but I can’t."
Mr Paterson performed so called "cleavage sparing" mastectomies when carrying out breast removal, which left a small amount of tissue behind for cosmetic reasons.
£3.2m has been paid out in damages to patients so far by the Trust regarding Mr Paterson's surgery.
In total there are 503 claims, of which 135 are continuing claims and 285 relate to private sector treatment.

More than 1,000 women may have been affected by his surgery in both the private sector and the NHS.
Admissions have been made in many other NHS cases and negotiations are ongoing.
There's been concern from patients over the potential for cancer to return in the residual breast tissue Mr Paterson left behind.
Kashmir Uppal, from Thompsons solicitors in Birmingham which is representing nearly 400 patients, says on the basis of their medical expert evidence there is a link.

"We've had lots of clients who have had the cleavage sparing mastectomy originally and a few years later they've had a recurrence within the residual breast tissue so those facts speak for themselves.
"Some of these women are really struggling to cope with it all. They put their trust in him and the NHS and have been very badly let down."
Mr Paterson worked at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield from 1993 to 1998 and at Solihull Hospital from 1998 to 2011, when he was suspended.
He also worked privately for Spire Healthcare at Spire Little Aston Hospital from 1993 and Spire Parkway hospital from 1996.

In 2004 an internal report at Solihull hospital highlighted the potential risk of "cleavage sparing" procedures but it wasn't until 2007 that a review was carried out.
In December 2007 Mr Paterson was told to stop performing the unregulated operations however there is evidence he carried on until at least 2010.
An independent review carried out by Sir Ian Kennedy into Mr Pateron's surgery for the NHS at is due to be published in the next few weeks.

Chief executive of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Mark Newbold, said in statement: "I would like to re-emphasise that, on behalf of the Trust, I very much regret what has happened to so many women, and our thoughts are with them and their families."
He promised to respond swiftly to Sir Ian Kennedy's findings and recommendations.
The police are investigating and Mr Paterson is currently suspended from practicing by the General Medical Council.
He declined to speak to Sky News due to patient confidentiality and the ongoing investigations.


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