Royal Derby Hospital: Women's care reviewed over gynaecology concerns

Colleagues raised concerns about Daniel Hay's care in late 2018

Nearly 400 women who were treated by a consultant gynaecologist who "unnecessarily harmed" some patients are being invited to have their care reviewed by an independent expert.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust is writing to 383 patients treated by Daniel Hay.

His conduct has been under investigation since 2019 after hospital colleagues raised concerns.

The trust has said at least eight of his patients had been harmed.

It has not provided any further information on the nature of the harm.

Virtual meetings

Mr Hay worked at the Royal Derby Hospital and Ripley Hospital between 2015 and 2018.

The 56-year-old retired in July 2018, citing mental health problems.

The trust initially reviewed his patients who had undergone major surgery such as hysterectomies, before being expanded to include intermediate care, including diagnostic tests.

By December, 383 former patients had been included in the review.

Now the trust has pledged to invite each one for a virtual meeting with an independent consultant gynaecologist to discuss their care outcome, starting with those who underwent major surgery.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it is aware some of the invite letters place the affected women into priority groups "red", "amber" and "green", depending on the potential harm that has been caused to them.

A full independent report will then be published in 2022.

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Dr Magnus Harrison, executive medical director at the trust, said: "I would like to again express my sincere regret and apologies to those patients who have received a standard of care that is below that expected.

"The review to date has focused only on information from clinical notes.

"In some cases the standard of notes was poor and we will only fully understand the standard of care they received when we have had the opportunity to meet with them.

"That's why it is vital that those women who we contact throughout the year help us to understand their experiences, even those where there were no concerns raised from the initial review."

'Most thorough investigation'

Tim Annett, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is representing some of the patients, said some of the stories he had heard were "deeply concerning".

"All our clients want is for the most thorough investigation to be held so they can be provided with all of the information they deserve," he said.

"Therefore we welcome the trust's announcement to invite women for a review of their care by an independent expert."

In a statement, Mr Hay apologised to the women affected by the review, adding he is "co-operating with the investigation".

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