A surgeon has been suspended over fears that he botched the operations of hundreds of women.
Rod Irvine, a consultant obstetrician, is being investigated by the General Medical Council after it emerged that he may have made potentially life-threatening errors during routine operations.
Hospital bosses have written to 2,000 women who have undergone surgery with Mr Irvine in the past ten years warning them that their treatment is under review.
An initial investigation has found he made some form of mistake in a quarter of all procedures. Such a rate could mean that up to 500 women have suffered under his hands.
Mr Irvine, 60, had worked at Queen Marys hospital, Sidcup, South East London, since 2002 and also practised at Guys and St Thomas hospitals in central London.
He specialised in procedures including hysterectomies, the removal of cancerous tumours, screening for cervical cancer and caesareans.
He also worked for several private London hospitals including the Portland, the Lister and the Wellington in Harley Street.
Concerns were raised last year when a routine audit of his operations at Queen Marys revealed an abnormally high number of complications among patients.
The hospital subsequently reviewed the treatment of 255 of his most recent patients and found that mistakes had been made in 66 cases.
These included 17 women where there was a serious cause for concern. Some are believed to have suffered a perforated bowel, which is fatal in 10 per cent of cases.
Concern: The investigation began after a routine audit of Mr Irvine’s work at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup, Kent
The hospital would not confirm whether any women had died and it said it was too early to say how
many had been harmed.
The women have been told that their medical records will be checked to see if there is any evidence they suffered complications caused by incompetence.
Most of the women had surgery several years ago and the hospital played down the chance that some had been harmed without yet being aware anything was wrong. However, women will be urged to come forward for treatment to correct any mistakes that may have occurred.
Only last month the NHS began publishing the death rates of thousands of surgeons amid concerns that badly-performing doctors are being allowed to make mistakes unnoticed.
Mr Irvine also worked at St Thomas’ hospital in central London
Mr Irvine was suspended in November last year when concerns were first surfaced. He is now being investigated by the GMC, which could decide to strike him off the register. The watchdog has temporarily banned him from carrying out any private work.
Queen Marys hospital is run by South London Healthcare, which last year became the first NHS trust to be put into administration after accumulating debts of £150million.
Dr Chris Palin, its medical director, said: It is unlikely that patients will need treatment. But its important that we review the relevant patient notes to check whether anything went wrong, to acknowledge any mistakes that may have happened, and if necessary to put things right.
All surgery involves risk and can lead to complications. But wherever we find cause for concern its important that we explore the reasons for this. Thats why we have written to the women concerned and explained that we will be reviewing their clinical notes.
Emerging from his large detached home in Caterham, Surrey, last night, Mr Irvine refused to comment.
Source Mail Online
