Surgeon suspended over treatment concerns

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A doctor who worked at the same private healthcare firm as rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson has been suspended, it has emerged.

Spire Healthcare said Mike Walsh – a specialist in trauma and orthopaedic surgery – was suspended in April 2018 over concerns about patient treatment.

Almost 50 of his patients from its Leeds hospital had been recalled.

The details emerged following an independent inquiry into Paterson, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence.

Paterson was found guilty in 2017 of intentionally wounding his patients.

Earlier this month, an inquiry into the breast surgeon found that a culture of “avoidance and denial” had allowed him to perform botched and unnecessary operations on hundreds of women.

• Surgeon wounded hundreds amid ‘culture of denial’
• Care of 217 patients reviewed amid surgeon probe

Spire said in a statement that it acted after concerns were raised about Mr Walsh’s work at its hospital in Leeds in 2018.

The company, which contacted the Royal College of Surgeons to assist with its investigation, said it had reviewed the notes of fewer than 200 patients, of which “fewer than 50” had been invited back for a follow-up appointment.

“Where we have identified concerns about the care a patient received, we have invited the patient to an appointment with an independent surgeon to review their treatment,” a spokesman for Spire Healthcare said.

“This is a complex case and the review is ongoing.”

It said that Mr Walsh, who was immediately suspended after the concerns were raised, was no longer working with Spire Healthcare.

The company said any patients at its Spire Leeds Hospital who had concerns about their treatment under Mr Walsh should contact the hospital.

It said its findings had also been shared with the Care Quality Commission and the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC said that while Mr Walsh was still on the medical register, he does not currently have a licence to practise, having held full registration until January 2019.

Last month, Spire also said it was reviewing the care of more than 200 patients after stopping another of its surgeons – Habib Rahman – from practising.

He worked at Spire’s Parkway hospital in the West Midlands – where Paterson had also worked.

Spire has 39 hospitals across the UK and one specialist cancer centre.