217 patients recalled after concerns about second consultant at Spire Parkway Hospital

It has been reported that more than 200 patients have been recalled following fears over unnecessary operations being carried out by an Orthopaedic Surgeon at a private hospital in the West Midlands.

Spire Healthcare has confirmed that 217 patients treated by Mr Habib Rahman, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Spire Parkway Hospital in Solihull have been contacted and offered a consultation to review their care following an investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons.

A former patient of Mr Rahman at Spire Parkway, (who did not want to be named) stated that she was recalled by the hospital in 2019 and advised that she had undergone two unnecessary surgeries over a two-month time period.

Mr Rahman performed shoulder manipulation surgeries on her which involved stretching and releasing flexible tissue around the shoulder under general anaesthetic in June and August 2017. The former patient, a 52-year-old woman from Solihull said, ‘Not only was I told my surgeries were unnecessary but that the type of surgery I had received from Mr Rahman wasn’t his specialist field.’ She added ‘I had no reason to doubt anything he stated, I trusted him.’

A spokesman for the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust confirmed on Friday 24th January that Mr Rahman is still working for the NHS under ‘interim restrictions’ which were imposed in July 2019.

The Trust has not recalled any of his NHS patients but letters have been sent to Spire Parkway Hospital patients who had shoulder manipulation surgery under general anaesthetic, asking them to return to the hospital for an appointment with an independent Orthopaedic Surgeon to ‘assess whether the care was appropriate.’

The Spire Parkway Hospital was also one of the hospitals where disgraced Breast Surgeon, Ian Paterson, worked, who was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for wounding patients after carrying out unnecessary operations. Mr Ian Paterson, Breast Surgeon, left patients disfigured and traumatised and it is thought that more than 1,000 patients could have been affected.

He was originally jailed for 15 years in 2017 after carrying out ‘extensive, life changing operations for no medically justifiable reasons’, but the sentence was later increased to 20 years. He was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent at Nottingham Crown Court, relating to nine women and one man, but it is believed there were far more victims. The Court heard that in many cases, patients were left disfigured and traumatised after they were wrongly told they had cancer. Many have since died as he failed to remove all cancerous tissue.

Alsters Kelley Medical Negligence solicitors acted for many of Mr Paterson’s patients and secured thousands in compensation.

We encourage anyone who feels they have received similar treatment/unnecessary care from Mr Habib Rahman, or indeed any other surgeon at the Spire Parkway Hospital to contact us. We will be happy to have an informal discussion.

Please contact Kiran Jalota on 01926 356056 or 07557 230235, or a member of our team on 01926 356072. Email address kiran.jalota@alsterskelley.com