Ian Paterson: Widower seeks answers over rogue surgeon treatment

An inquest into Janice Prescott's death is one of a further 11 due to open on Friday linked to jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson

A woman whose death will be examined by an inquest was told by disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson her breast cancer would not return, her husband said.

Janice Prescott had a full mastectomy carried out by him but within a year Mr Prescott said breast cancer had returned in the same place.

She was 49 when she died and is also survived by her two daughters.

An inquest into Mrs Prescott's death is one of a further 11 that were opened and adjourned on Friday.

Paterson is currently serving a 20-year sentence after he carried out unnecessary or unapproved procedures on more than 1,000 breast cancer patients.

More than 30 deaths are already the subject of an inquest. 

Ian Paterson was jailed in 2017 after carrying out unnecessary or unapproved procedures on more than 1,000 breast cancer patients

The judge presiding over the inquest, Richard Foster, has already indicated there may well be more declared.

Speaking before each inquest was opened at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court on Friday, Judge Foster said he "had reason to believe" that sub-standard care by the jailed surgeon had caused or contributed to the deaths of each of the women, who died between 1998 and 2015.

He went on to adjourn all 11 until any further pre-inquest review hearings and a substantive hearing due on 7 October 2024, while other cases were considered by a team of medical experts.

The final hearings in 2024 could last up to 11 months, he said, but he told families that he would do all he could to minimise any distress they would face.

"Although I have identified that systemic issues will be considered, I want to assure all families of the deceased that they will remain at the focus and centre and heart of my investigations," Judge Foster said.

"I know it is many years since your loved one passed away, but that does not in any way diminish your loss."

Mrs Prescott is survived by her husband Lynn and their two daughters

Janice Prescott was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and, as the family had private insurance, her husband said they wanted the best treatment.

"Ian Paterson's attitude always was that he was the best of the best. I thought that she was getting the best possible care," Mr Prescott said.

"When the cancer returned, he told us it must have been an unusually deep lymph node in the chest."

He said his wife had been stoical and had endured several cycles of chemotherapy.

Their daughters were 21 and 18 when she died in 2005.

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"I am driven to find out what happened. Whether the treatment that she received contributed towards her death," Mr Prescott added.

"After the operation, Paterson said to her, 'I have removed every last vestige of breast tissue, you won't get cancer in that site again'. Within less than a year, it had reappeared on the same side."   

Lynn Prescott said he had thought his wife "was getting the best possible care" from Paterson

Paterson worked at Spire Parkway Hospital and Spire Little Aston Hospital in the West Midlands between 1997 and 2011, as well as NHS hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

An independent inquiry found he had been free to perform harmful surgery in NHS and private hospitals due to "a culture of avoidance and denial" in a healthcare system where there was "wilful blindness" to his behaviour.

He performed an unrecognised so-called cleavage sparing surgery that left breast tissue behind and which could have led to cancers returning.

It is these patients whose notes are being assessed to see if their lives were shortened because cancer was able to return.    

Judge Foster said 417 cases of former patients had been reviewed.

The 11 women who had inquests opened into their deaths on Friday:

• Jennifer Lloyd-Faux, 62, from Billesley, Birmingham, a retired head teacher who died in 2009.

• Chloe Nikitas, an environmental consultant from Tamworth, who died in 2008 aged 43.

• Janice Prescott, 49, a school secretary from Sutton Coldfield, who died in 2005.

• Constance Whittle, from Sheldon, Birmingham, who died aged 81 in 2003.

• Ann Styles, from Solihull, who died aged 48 in 2001.

• Catherine Naylor, 57, a retired mental health nurse from Birmingham, who died in 2009.

• Elizabeth Tibbetts, a legal executive from Coventry, who died in Solihull in 2005 aged 53.

• Gladys Currall, from Solihull, who was 82 when she died in 1998. She died in Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, which was previously run by the former Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

• Doreen Hammond, a retired nurse from Solihull, who died aged 87 in 2015.

• Gillian Bathurst, 55, from Kings Heath, Birmingham, who died in 2010.

• Barbara Lenaghan, from Birmingham, who died in 2013 aged 68.