From Ann Wills

 Daily Mail 2.9.20  “MISSED CHANCES TO STOP BREAST CANCER BUTCHER” by Liz Hull.

Disgraced breast cancer surgeon Ian Paterson was allowed to butcher patients despite serious concerns being flagged to his NHS bosses 10 years before he was jailed, it emerged yesterday.  Concerns were raised in 2004, & by 2007 senior colleagues at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham where he worked, were aware of 9 reports of patients suffering botched operations.  Despite this, by 2010 only one case had been reported to General Medical Council (GMC) for investigation & Paterson was allowed to continue operating.  A tribunal in Manchester heard that 5 further reviews of his conduct were held in secret at the GMC before Paterson was finally suspended from medical practise in 2012, after complaints from 30 patients.  In April 2017, he was jailed for 15 years after being convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent & 3 counts of unlawful wounding.  This was later increased to 20 years.  New details emerged at a preliminary hearing of Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, where 2 senior doctors who are accused of failing to stop Paterson, began a legal battle to save their careers.  Mark Goldman & Ian Cunliffe face being struck off, if found guilty.  They were referred to the GMC following an investigation which concluded that a culture of “denial” at the NHS Trust enabled Paterson to perform over 1,000 botched or unnecessary operations.  He carried out faulty operations where the cancer returned & 675 of his patients died.  Other patients were given surgery they did not need, with some women finding out years later that they had never had cancer, which he operated on them for. 

Ann