Mother of girl operated on by disgraced surgeon says hospital 'gaslit' her

The parent of a young miss operated connected by a disgraced surgeon astatine a celebrated London children's infirmary says she should ne'er person been near successful his care.

Jodee Seeley told BBC Newsnight she was considering ineligible enactment aft Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), whom she accuses of "gaslighting" her, allowed Yaser Jabbar to run connected her girl Alana adjacent erstwhile complaints had been raised astir his misconduct.

Mr Jabbar near the infirmary successful 2023 aft a Royal College of Surgeons enquiry recovered helium had performed "incorrect" oregon "inappropriate" country successful respective cases.

A spokesperson for GOSH said it understood "why Alana and her household are worried", adding "we are atrocious they consciousness accusation was withheld from them".

Mr Jabbar had operated connected Jodee's girl successful 2022, erstwhile she was 8 years old, fitting metallic plates into her knees for limb lengthening and straightening.

He was a starring surgeon astatine the renowned hospital, operating connected children with analyzable disorders and carrying retired procedures specified arsenic the 1 undergone by Alana.

The infirmary has since initiated autarkic reports into each of his 723 patients, to reason what level of harm they had experienced.

Some cases linked to him resulted successful harm including life-long injuries and amputation.

Jodee, from Essex, told the BBC's Newsnight programme she had had nary thought of the doctor's estimation erstwhile her girl Alana was referred to his attraction successful 2021.

At that point, concerns had already been raised astir Mr Jabbar.

She said successful the family's archetypal consultation successful March 2021, which lasted "about 5 minutes", Mr Jabbar had advised the invasive surgery.

"We didn't privation to stone the vessel excessively overmuch due to the fact that helium seemed similar helium knew precisely what helium was doing," she said.

"So we benignant of went on with it reasoning he's an orthopaedic surgeon, it's Great Ormond Street [Hospital]. We trusted him."

The cognition took spot 10 months later, successful January 2022. During that period, much nonrecreational complaints from different surgeons were raised with the managers astatine the hospital.

None of this was ever disclosed to Jodee oregon different families of Mr Jabbar's patients.

She said the country had appeared to spell good and, with Alana's limb bandaged up, determination had not seemed to beryllium immoderate contiguous problems.

But erstwhile the bandage came disconnected a fewer weeks later, Jodee saw 2 scars alternatively of 1 connected the wrong of her child's limb erstwhile they had been told it would beryllium conscionable 1 incision.

"So the alarm bells rang astatine that point," she said.

As weeks went by, the mobility of Alana, present aged 11, was not improving and she was reporting symptom frequently, often needing painkillers.

Jodee said she had thought astatine first: "Well, possibly it conscionable hasn't worked? Maybe that wasn't the close process and it volition beryllium removed? Or possibly it's conscionable excessively aboriginal to tell?"

She said she had expected regular check-ups from the infirmary but a follow-up assignment did not travel until six months aft the operation.

The plates successful Alana's knees were expected to beryllium determination for astir 2 years. Jodee says they saw different surgeon astatine the infirmary successful a follow-up successful July - six months aft the cognition - who recommended they not travel out.

Then, by chance, they saw Mr Jabbar connected the aforesaid visit.

Jodee says helium took 1 look and said they "needed to travel retired immediately" and asked the household to instrumentality the pursuing time for different large operation.

He told the household helium was disquieted Alana's tendons could re-fuse to the metallic plates, Jodee says.

"We were truly panicked, we were truly worried.... [thinking] 'What person we done, is she okay, is it semipermanent damage?'"

They returned to the infirmary successful August 2022 to person the plates removed.

But the family's interest was present truthful beardown that they moved Alana to a antithetic infirmary months after.

She continued to suffer mobility and person different problems during this period.

Jodee says she was not informed of thing incorrect with Mr Jabbar's enactment until February this year, much than 16 months on.

She says the infirmary informed her lone successful a little missive with fewer details.

"It seemed similar rather a wide letter... thing to interest about," she said.

She did not realise the grade of Mr Jabbar's reported misconduct until media reports.

"I did not realise the standard of it oregon what really happened oregon that determination had been truthful galore complaints," she added.

And she noted the astir "upsetting" constituent was that the infirmary had issued comments to media astatine a clip erstwhile it had not adjacent informed patients and their families.

"I conscionable felt sick, to beryllium honest," she said. "So evidently devastated. As a parent, evidently you privation to support your child, it is the fig 1 priority. And I knew thing was amiss erstwhile we had seen him."

Jodee says her girl should ne'er person been enactment nether the surgeon's attraction and has accused the infirmary of a civilization of complicity and wider cover-up.

She told the BBC she had heard from the infirmary instantly anterior to talking to reporters.

She said this could beryllium a coincidence oregon "they've been pushed to bash that due to the fact that they were alert that I'd beryllium coming to speech to you today".

"It does really consciousness similar they've been gaslighting the full way," she added.

Jodee said she and her household were precise backstage but she had felt compelled to talk retired truthful different victims could cognize they are "not alone".

"It's truly important for different radical to cognize what's happened and to recognize if they're being gaslighted arsenic well, that they're not alone, that this is what's going on," she said.

A spokesperson for GOSH said it was atrocious to each acrophobic families, adding that aft the Royal College of Surgeons report, it had asked outer experts to reappraisal each Mr Jabbar's patients.

The connection goes on: "They are moving astatine gait [...] We recognize wherefore Alana and her household are disquieted [...] and we person reached retired to them.

"We are atrocious they consciousness that accusation was withheld from them. Once concerns were raised astir the surgeon's signifier successful June 2022, we shared these with the General Medical Council and undertook accelerated fact-finding. During this play the surgeon's signifier was restricted to elemental procedures [...] and ever arsenic portion of a wider surgical team.

"We past had to found the facts earlier sharing accusation with patients.

"We are present updating patients regularly astir the advancement of the review.

"We are alert determination were concerns regarding circumstantial patients successful 2021 that were raised arsenic ceremonial incidents and were afloat investigated. The findings successful each idiosyncratic lawsuit and collectively did not trigger the threshold for initiating further enactment astatine that time."

GOSH's actions successful the aftermath of Mr Jabbar's departure person continued to travel nether fire.

This twelvemonth the infirmary has initiated autarkic reports into each of his 723 patients, to reason what level of harm they experienced.

But families who person received the results successful caller weeks person called the reviews a mis-representation and even a "whitewash" of what their children experienced.

Parents person told the BBC however the infirmary "failed their children", leaving them physically and mentally damaged.

The BBC has spoken to astatine slightest 4 families - and had indirect interaction with 12 much - who accidental the reports bash not bespeak their children's experiences oregon minimise their symptom and suffering.

The reviews, carried retired by specializer surgeons who did not enactment astatine GOSH, were based connected diligent notes provided by the hospital.

Many of the reports were besides made without immoderate interviews with the diligent oregon their family.