Spire Healthcare patients recalled over shoulder op concerns

Martin Byrne says the shoulder surgery has "broken me"

A private healthcare company has confirmed it will recall patients amid concerns about a surgeon's operations.

Spire Healthcare, in Birmingham, would not confirm how many patients of Munawar Shah would be recalled.

It comes after Walsall Healthcare Trust announced it was recalling 600 NHS patients who underwent shoulder surgery performed by Mr Shah.

Spire said it was committed to promptly responding to concerns and undertaking good governance.

Mr Shah is the third shoulder surgeon since 2019 operating from Spire premises to have had issues.

Spire Healthcare would not confirm how many patients would be recalled

One private patient, Martin Byrne, said he was in immediate pain after an operation to repair his rotator cuff performed by Mr Shah at Spire, Little Aston, in Sutton Coldfield in August 2018.

'He has ruined me'

He had a further two operations, one on the NHS by Mr Shah and another at Spire, but has since been told nothing more can be done surgically.

"This has broken me as a man," he said. "I can't do the things that I used to do with my children. I can't help out lifting at work.

"I have sat on the bed crying at night from the pain and I feel that Spire have offered me a lot of tea and sympathy, but they have just fobbed me off.

"In my opinion, he has ruined me."

Spire has written to Mr Byrne confirming that he will be part of the recall.

The company said that, while it cannot comment on individual cases, it took incidents of inappropriate treatment extremely seriously and apologised to patients where this was proven.

A review by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), commissioned in 2020 by Walsall Healthcare Trust, recommended Mr Shah's patients be recalled.

Following the review, Spire said it had started to contact specific patients who had particular treatments with Mr Shah.

He has not operated at Spire premises since 2020, the company added.

Unnecessary procedures

It is not the first time concerns have been raised about surgery at Spire Healthcare.

In 2020, the company contacted 217 patients of another shoulder specialist, Habib Rahman.

It had invited an RCS review into his work at Spire Parkway in Solihull which is said to have focused on whether the surgeon undertook unnecessary or inappropriate procedures.

Spire declined to reveal the review's findings or disclose whether any patients had come to harm.

However, legal firm Thompsons claims to represent more than 30 of Mr Rahman's patients and said more than 20 cases had been settled.

Spire said Mr Rahman had not practised at Spire Parkway since 2019.

In August, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard a case against a third surgeon who practised at Spire - Mr Amir Salama, who was based in Solihull and operated on the upper arm.

Spire said when concerns were raised about Mr Salama's work they were comprehensively reviewed.

It said it had supported the fitness to practise investigations and had suspended Mr Salama's practising privileges in 2021. He has not worked at Spire since then.

Further action will be considered in March, once Mr Salama's case was completed, it said.

In March, 27 allegations were found proven with 72 others not proven.

Spire pointed out the three surgeons had also worked at NHS trusts and in some cases, other healthcare providers.

Sarah Jane Downing was one of rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson's patients

Sarah Jane Downing sits on a Department of Health working group looking at better regulation of private hospitals.

This was set up following the inquiry into rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson, who was jailed for performing unnecessary procedures at Spire Parkway in Solihull. She was one of his patients.

"Everybody is working extremely hard and is well intentioned," she said. "We are making progress, but perhaps not as quickly as I would like."

Unlike with Ian Paterson, there is no evidence of any criminal or illegal activity with regard to the three orthopaedic surgeons.

Spire Healthcare said it had radically changed in recent years.

"We have overhauled our culture, management, standards and training and invested significantly to put patient safety and quality of care at the heart of everything we do," a spokesperson said.

"Our CQC scores, patient outcomes and patient satisfaction scores are very high."

It said there were "rigorous" processes in place to oversee the practise of independent consultants.

• Update on 31 March 2023: We have amended this article to correct the number of proven allegations, and to clarify that Dr Salama's practise is not impaired.