Plea to find families of shamed surgeon's patients

Inquests are currently ongoing for 63 of Ian Paterson's former patients, after the surgeon was jailed for 20 years in 2017

The families of five of jailed surgeon Ian Paterson's patients, whose cases are being examined at judge-led inquests, have not yet been traced.

The coroner's legal team have been unable to trace next of kin for Jean Bonehill, Gladys Currall, Elaine Morris, Ann Styles, and Winifred Worrall, the BBC has been told.

The inquest into the death of Elaine Morris, who died aged 45, resumed in Birmingham on Monday. The coroner, Judge Richard Foster, asked for help to trace her family.

Ian Paterson was sentenced to 20 years in 2017, after being convicted of wounding patients with botched and unnecessary operations. He is known to have treated thousands of patients at hospitals in the West Midlands.

Judge Foster said Ms Morris was born in Birmingham in 1956.

She suffered from epilepsy and cerebral palsy, both of which were described as severe, and she had learning difficulties. She used a wheelchair and was cared for by her mother at home in Shirley, Solihull.

Ian Paterson, giving evidence via video link on Monday, said Ms Morris' mother would have made decisions about her treatment.

Ms Morris was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right side when she was 42.

The inquest heard she had a "wide local excision" also known as a lumpectomy.

The court was told she had her operation privately on 8 September 1999 but that an operation had also been scheduled by the NHS a week later.

The counsel to the inquests, Briony Ballard, asked Paterson: "Did you obtain a financial advantage if a patient went privately?"

He replied: "Yes."

However, he added he did not advise Ms Morris' mother to go privately.

The court heard she could not have radiotherapy due to her repeated epileptic attacks and the fact that she could not lie still.

In January 2000, the cancer returned but the court heard she did not have a mastectomy until November that year.

She died in Solihull in 2002, aged 45.

As no next of kin have been traced, the coroner's legal team do not have a picture of Ms Morris and the judge asked if this could be publicised.

Pictures the BBC has obtained of some of the women whose deaths are being investigated at inquest, regarding their treatment by Paterson

Solicitors to the inquests told the BBC work to trace next of kin was an "ongoing process".

"The other cases will be identified as we hear these cases should we not have been able to identify the next of kin by the time of the hearing," solicitor firm Higgs said.

"The coroner's team are making their standard investigations along with assistance from the police where appropriate."

Debbie Douglas, who underwent needless surgery at Paterson's hands, said it was sad the families could not be traced.

"There's no-one there to represent them to show the kind of person they were.

"The names are read out, and the judge does that with sensitivity, but that doesn't paint a picture of that person."

The inquests look into the cases of 63 of Ian Paterson's former patients.

They are to determine whether the women died an unnatural death as a result of Paterson's actions.

This will include determining whether any of them had so-called cleavage-sparing mastectomies from Paterson, where some breast tissue was retained.

Between 1997 and 2011, Paterson worked at Spire Parkway hospital and Spire Little Aston hospital.

The former surgeon, originally from Bangor, County Down, also worked at NHS hospitals run by the former Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.