Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust expands external inquiry into issues with hip operations performed on children to cover 800 patients.
An external inquiry into issues with hip operations performed on children at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has been expanded to cover 800 patients.
As Healthcare Today reported in February, the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust suspended the clinical practice of an orthopaedic surgeon after concerns were raised by colleagues in October last year.
The initial external review was carried out by an independent expert and considered a number of complex paediatric hip surgery cases performed by the Trust’s orthopaedic service over the past two and a half years. That review was completed in January and identified that the outcomes of treatment provided to nine children were below the standard expected.
The Trust has now said that the review will be extended to a further 800 patients – both children and adults.
“The findings of the initial external review were extremely disturbing. Since then, not only have we been contacted by some of the families, but we’ve also heard heartbreaking stories from other families outside the scope of that initial review about their child’s treatment,” said Catherine Slattery, associate solicitor at Irwin Mitchell which is supporting a number of parents with concerns about orthopaedic operations. “That 800 cases will now be looked at is truly staggering,” she added.
The latest review
The latest review will be led by barrister Andrew Kennedy. He will examine treatment provided to 700 patients who underwent planned operations. The review will also scrutinise 100 adult and child patients who underwent emergency surgery.
“While the individual surgeon specialises in paediatric surgery, it is normal practice for all orthopaedic consultants to carry out emergency orthopaedic procedures on both adults and paediatric patients. Therefore, as part of this retrospective review, the expert clinical panel will also review an initial 100 adults and paediatric orthopaedic trauma cases to determine whether there are any concerns about the emergency treatment provided by this surgeon,” the Trust explained.
The Trust has confirmed that it will publish the findings from these external clinical reviews, along with the findings from the initial external review, once they are concluded.
“We will work tirelessly to examine all the cases within the scope of this review and to ensure that any shortcomings in care are identified as quickly as possible so that patients and families are fully informed and further consultations and treatment can be offered as appropriate,” said Kennedy.
Separate investigation
A separate investigation is to be carried out by specialist investigations company Verita into whether concerns about the surgeon should have been raised earlier.
“We know that concerns were raised as early as 2015 and were the subject of an external clinical review in 2016. The 2016 review indicated concerns about the care provided to a small number of patients and made recommendations for the Trust to implement. As part of their work, we have asked Verita to investigate whether that review was acted upon appropriately and, if not, why,” the Trust said.
“These issues are potentially more concerning due to the fact that concerns about this surgeon were raised ten years ago and the trust seems unsure whether 2016 recommendations to promote patient safety were implemented,” said Arran Macleod, senior associate at law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper.
“If they weren’t, then this would suggest an overall systemic failure by the hospital to ensure the safety of its patients,” he continued.
As a precautionary measure in 2024, the Trust said that it had restricted the individual surgeon’s clinical practice. Following the outcome of the initial review, it also said that although the surgeon had been suspended he is co-operating with the Trust’s process.
The Trust said that the individual surgeon had not been named for legal reasons.
