Mum feels like 'bad parent' after doctor suspended

Staff at Addenbrooke's Hospital raised concerns about care provided by a surgeon

A woman whose disabled daughter was operated on by a surgeon now at the centre of an investigation has told how she feels like a "bad parent".

The woman, who lives in Suffolk, told the BBC how her daughter, now eight, had undergone 20 operations after being born with a disability.

She said most of those operations had been carried out by a surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, who has now been suspended.

The woman said Addenbrooke's had now told her that if an operation had been done "correctly" when her daughter was 18 months old, the youngster would probably not have needed further surgery.

Addenbrooke's governing trust has said the care received by 800 patients is to be reviewed.

Earlier this year, the orthopaedic surgeon at the centre of the review was suspended after concerns were raised by colleagues.

The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) said an initial review had revealed that treatment provided to nine children was "below the standard we would expect".

Trust chief executive Roland Sinker said the surgeon specialised in children, but also carried out emergency orthopaedic procedures on adults.

The trust said the review would assess the treatment given to 700 patients who had planned operations, and another 100 adult and child patients who had emergency treatment.

Barrister Andrew Kennedy KC has been appointed by the trust to chair a panel of expert clinicians which will carry out a review.

'Deeply sorry'

The woman, who does not want to be identified, told the BBC she had "listened to who I thought I should have listened to".

"I feel like I am a bad parent for not protecting her," she said. "As her mother, you are supposed to protect her and I didn't do that."

She added: "Addenbrooke's have told us that when she was 18 months, if her operation was done correctly, if the cuts were done correctly, and the follow-up scans were done correctly, it had a 90% chance of success rate and she probably would not have had the rest of her operations."

A lawyer representing the little girl's parents said they felt "let down" and "disappointed".

Solicitor Jodi Newton, who is based at Osbornes Law, told the BBC: "Her parents have spent most of their lives caring for their daughter since she was born with a disability, which would have been easily cured had the surgery been done correctly from the outset."

She said the girl's parents had "received only a very short letter with very superficial answers as to what went wrong".

Hospital bosses have apologised for not contacting the girl's parents sooner.

CUH said in a statement: "We apologise to the family that they were not contacted prior to our public statement on 14 February.

"This was an unfortunate oversight and we have taken steps to strengthen our processes.

"We reiterate to all the patients and families affected by this that we are deeply sorry.

"We will do everything we can to support them, while investigations continue."