Great Ormond Street reviews 700 children treated by ex-surgeon

Great Ormond Street Hospital says it is carrying retired an urgent reappraisal of the cases of much than 700 patients aft concerns were raised astir 1 of its erstwhile surgeons.

The infirmary said 22 children successful 39 cases looked astatine truthful acold had travel to immoderate grade of harm, and that it is taking the concerns “incredibly seriously”.

The 721 patients were treated by Yaser Jabbar, a advisor orthopaedic surgeon who worked astatine the hospital’s little limb reconstruction work from 2017 until helium stepped down successful September past year.

The reappraisal was first reported by the Sunday Times, which besides said it had seen a confidential study by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) which was captious of the wider civilization astatine GOSH.

The paper said astatine slightest 1 kid had to person a limb amputated owed to post-surgery complications, portion others were near with legs astatine antithetic lengths, successful chronic pain, and with nervus harm and imperishable deformities.

GOSH said it had contacted each 721 patients oregon their families connected much than 1 juncture and volition proceed to beryllium successful interaction passim the reappraisal process.

The infirmary said it had asked the RCS to reappraisal the wider paediatric orthopaedic work successful 2022, aft becoming alert of concerns from patients' families and staff.

As portion of its reappraisal the RCS raised concerns astir a erstwhile surgeon and different signifier wrong the service, prompting GOSH to initiate the diligent reviews from April this year, the infirmary said.

This process volition past 18 months from May and involves 5 outer paediatric orthopaedic surgical consultants, GOSH said.

Of the 39 cases reviewed truthful far, 22 children person been recovered to person been harmed, with 9 classified arsenic suffering “low/moderate” harm and 13 classified arsenic “severe harm”, with perchance life-long injuries.

In addition, 456 cases person been looked astatine by a elder caregiver and paediatrician and person not been categorised arsenic needing urgent attention.

A GOSH spokesperson said the infirmary was committed to "learning from each azygous diligent that we treat, and to being unfastened and transparent with our families erstwhile attraction falls beneath the precocious standards we strive for".

They added: “We person contacted each patients and families who person been impacted and wherever harm has been identified, discussed their cases with them nether our work of candour.

"To each of them, we privation to convey our sincere apologies."

A leaked transcript of the RCS report, seen by The Sunday Times, is said to person recovered a leg-straightening and lengthening country conducted by Mr Jabbar connected 1 child, a six-year-old boy, to beryllium “incorrect and unsuitable”.

The boy's parents told the paper that pursuing the process they “feared thing was wrong” but erstwhile they raised it with Mr Jabbar helium was “very dismissive”.

After they sought abstracted opinions from different specialists, it was recovered that the framework utilized for the lengthening was the incorrect type, the Sunday Times said.

“After a mates of days the framework became escaped and my kid was successful a batch of pain," the boy's begetter said. "You could consciousness the bony successful his leg, which felt retired of position, similar it wasn’t lined up and was protruding the incorrect way."

The RCS report, which BBC News has not seen, is besides said to person criticised the hospital’s little limb reconstruction work arsenic not “safe for patients oregon capable to conscionable demand” and the orthopaedic section arsenic “dysfunctional".

GOSH did not acceptable retired the afloat findings, but said it accepted them and it was taking steps to enactment connected each the recommendations.

The BBC has contacted Mr Jabbar for remark but helium has yet to respond.

The RCS study is besides said by the Sunday Times to person raised concerns astir managers astatine the infirmary failing to enactment erstwhile concerns were raised by unit astir Mr Jabbar’s behaviour wrong six months of him joining successful 2017.

GOSH said that elder managers astatine the spot were lone made alert of concerns successful 2022 and “despite thorough investigations” nary records of concerns by unit being made anterior to this person been found.

Within 18 days of elder managers being made aware, GOSH said it had commissioned the outer RCS review.

Mr Jabbar has not had a licence to practise medicine successful the UK since 8 January, the aesculapian registry shows. He is present thought to beryllium moving successful Dubai.