The review into the care of consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbarhas found that 94 patients were harmed between 2017 and 2022.
Great Ormond Street Hospital has published the summary of its findings into the review of patients who were under the care of consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children between 2017 and 2022.
It found that 94 patients were harmed by Jabbar in that period.
In 2022, concerns were raised about Jabbar, who worked at the hospital from 2017 to 2022. It invited the Royal College of Surgeons (RSC) into the hospital to review his work and the wider orthopaedic service.
The college recommended that the hospital review a cohort of Jabbar’s patients. It looked at all 789 of his patients, and the hospital hired independent paediatric orthopaedic surgeons from other UK hospitals to review the care these patients had received and determine if they had come to harm.
The experts followed NHS England guidelines to determine whether harm had been caused, and if it had been, graded it as severe, moderate or mild. They found that 94 patients had come to harm that was attributable to Jabbar.
Of the remainder, 642 patients did not come to harm that was attributable to Jabbar. An additional 53 patients had incomplete records, which meant the experts were unable to determine whether harm had been caused.
It is understood that Jabbar has now left the country.
In a statement, the hospital said: “We want to offer our sincerest apologies to all patients and families who have been impacted. We also recognise that the review process has added to the distress and worry that they may have felt, and we are sorry for this.”
122 recommendations
The Royal College of Surgeons review made 122 recommendations for the hospital, all of which it says have been completed.
Within the orthopaedic service, actions includes standardising the way the hospital accepts patients and manages waiting lists; ensuring every surgical patient is reviewed by a large team before and following surgery; fortnightly meetings with Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to discuss complex cases with a wider specialist team; and strengthening the processes the hospital has to discuss care that has not gone to plan at monthly Mortality and Morbidity Meetings.
More broadly, Great Ormond Street Hospital has standardised multidisciplinary teams and mortality and morbidity meeting governance; it is reviewing outcome measures for its services; and has developed speciality lead training for its clinical leaders.
“Fully understanding what has happened is essential so that lessons are learned, and families receive the clarity and support they deserve,” said a spokesperson for the Royal College of Surgeons.
“The changes we have made come too late for these patients and families, but we hope that they will help prevent future patients and families from going through what happened to them,” the hospital said.
As Healthcare Today reported in February last year, children’s medical negligence claims cost NHS Trusts in England more than £3.1 billion in compensation payouts alone between 2020 and 2025.
