'Government is too slow to act over rogue surgeon'

Debbie Douglas said she was campaigning for people "more vulnerable than me"

A woman harmed by jailed surgeon Ian Paterson says the government is taking too long to bring in changes that could stop a similar case happening again.

Debbie Douglas had a mastectomy and chemotherapy on Paterson's orders after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 but later found out she could have simply had a lump removed.

The disgraced surgeon was convicted of wounding patients through botched and unnecessary operations and the government told the BBC most improvements had been brought in after an inquiry made recommendations in 2020.

But Ms Douglas, from Birmingham, said she felt it was taking too long over those changes remaining and ministers were "kicking the can along the road".

Among the changes still to be made is reforming the compensation system for patients if they were harmed.

'Renowned surgeon'

When her diagnosis came, it was a year after losing her dad, John, to lung cancer and two years after her mum, Pat, died of oesophageal cancer.

At the time, she reassured her daughter and two sons, then teenagers, that she had private health insurance through work.

However she was treated by Paterson who would go on to be jailed for 20 years in 2017.

"I felt absolutely lucky that I've got Paterson - he was the renowned surgeon in the area.," Ms Douglas said.

The majority of his patients lived in Birmingham, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

Jen Davies said there was "pure anger" after finding out her mother had undergone an unnecessary operation

Her now 40-year-old daughter, Jen Davies, recalled: "She had said 'I will get better. I'm not like your nan and grandad, it's a different cancer. I've got this fantastic surgeon'."

Her mother went on to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy, later discovering she did not need them and could have had a lumpectomy instead.

"It was horrendous to see my mum in a hospital bed with drains coming out of her and not being the mum that we knew," her daughter said.

"To think that she'd done all that just for nothing, it was just pure anger."

Ms Douglas' parents both died of cancer but she had assured her children in 2003 that her private healthcare would help her

In 2020 an independent inquiry found opportunities to stop Paterson were missed by the NHS and private sector.

The Bishop of Norwich presented findings of an inquiry, including 15 recommendations to ensure the harm the disgraced surgeon caused could not be repeated.

The government said most recommendations were met but Ms Douglas said progress was slow.

Among those recommendations which a spokesperson for the Department of Health (DoH) said were "subject to ongoing action" was reforming the compensation system for patients if they were harmed.

In July, the government said they were continuing to work on reforming clinical negligence cover system including cover for criminal acts.

"It's just another little step to say we're doing something," Ms Douglas said.

"But again, it's another little step to say we're kicking the can along the road, we didn't bite the bullet, we haven't sorted it."

Ian Paterson was jailed in 2017 for 20 years

Paterson worked at the then Heart of England NHS Trust, which covered Birmingham and Solihull, and also at Spire Little Aston.

Spire Healthcare set up a fund to compensate his victims in 2017 before renewing it with a new fund in 2021 which is still ongoing.

A spokesperson for the company said it had always supported the inquiry recommendations and had introduced the one relating to Spire.

Meanwhile, an NHS database on consultants' performance, the National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP), is online but, despite recommendations, only medics can access it, not patients.

Ms Douglas said: "You can see the whole performance of that consultant. Paterson or any other consultant that was falling outside the normal guidelines would be picked up straight away."

She added she was campaigning for people "more vulnerable than me".

A spokesperson for the DoH said the safety of all patients was a "top priority".

"We are working urgently to implement the minority of remaining Paterson recommendations and will put patient safety at the heart of our 10 Year Plan for Health," they added.

The Independent Healthcare Providers Network represent private healthcare providers like Spire.

Since the review's report, a spokesperson said independent healthcare providers had taken "clear steps" to improve the supervision of medics.

"All doctors – regardless of whether they work in the NHS or independent sector - are legally obliged to have adequate and appropriate indemnity in place", they added.

"The sector is working closely with government as they roll out their new code of conduct for medical indemnifiers."

Dozens of inquests are ongoing at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court into the deaths of patients of Paterson.