Children's surgeon suspended after nine surgeries fall 'below expected standards'

An orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in treating children has been suspended from a hospital in Cambridge after nine surgeries were found to fall "below expected standards".

A review was commissioned in October after colleagues raised concerns about the doctor.

The review was completed in January and looked at a number of complex paediatric hip surgery cases performed at Addenbrookes Hospital over two and a half years.

It found the outcomes of treatment provided to nine children were "below the standard we would expect", Cambridge University Hospitals chief executive Roland Sinker said. The impacted families were approached by the hospital.

The outcomes were not life-threatening, but children's mobility was found to be affected, with "challenges around their hips and where the upper parts of their legs meet their hips", Mr Sinker said, adding the review started the "moment that concerns were raised" last year.

A helpline was launched on Friday afternoon for any parents concerned their children may have been impacted. Within two hours of it going live, it had already received seven phone calls.

Mr Sinker said the trust was committed to being "utterly transparent" about what had happened and encouraged any families who had pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Addenbrookes to reach out to the helpline, or email address, so they could identify everyone affected.

"I'm desperately sorry that we've let these nine children and their families down in this way. They deserve and should expect better than this," Mr Sinker said.

Any patients or families who are concerned about their care can contact 0808 175 6331 or email CUH.helpline@nhs.net.

Reviewing all surgeries

The surgeon was put on restricted duties while an initial review took place, undertaken by an independent expert.

After the review, the surgeon was suspended and is "fully co-operating with the trust's process", Mr Sinker said.

Now the trust is undertaking a retrospective review into all of the planned surgical operations carried out by the individual during their employment. This will review the quality of care received by those patients and schedule any further clinic assessments.

The trust said it had also informed the General Medical Council, NHS England and the Care Quality Commission.

"We will identify whether there were any opportunities to have identified these concerns earlier as well as any wider learning and changes required in the immediate and longer term," Mr Sinker said.

Have you been affected? Email NHSstories@sky.uk

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