Surgeon claims Bath's RUH 'covered up' patient blinding

Juanita Graham said she still feels pain when moving her eye

A surgeon sacked by a hospital after raising safety concerns has accused the trust of a cover-up after a patient was partially blinded during an operation.

Juanita Graham, 41, lost the sight in her left eye during an operation at Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) in 2019. She is now suing the trust.

Serryth Colbert said he was put down as the lead author on an investigation into the incident, but said he "did not write a word" of it.

The RUH has declined to comment.

Mr Colbert has described the hospital investigation into Mrs Graham's operation as "deeply flawed".

The surgeon, who specialises in the head, neck, face and jaw, has made several serious allegations about patient safety at the RUH, and believes these claims led to him being regarded as a troublemaker and dismissed in October 2023.

Mr Colbert is also a former Commonwealth Gold rowing medallist

Mrs Graham, from Trowbridge, said she was still traumatised by the operation on her eye.

"I remember coming round, seeing the time and felt like a gush and I couldn't see," she said.

"The next time I remember waking up again, I thought it was my partner but it was a surgeon and he was crying. I said 'what's gone wrong?'.

"What was meant to be a simple operation has now left me with scarring and permanent damage to my optic nerve and I won't be able to see again."

Mrs Graham was sedated for another operation to find out what had happened, but said that when she woke up there was an immediate sense something was not right.

"I remember waking up and one of the nurses whispered in my ear when I came out," she said.

"She said to me 'you are going to get through this and get big compensation'.

"Even the students seemed nervous. Everything in my notes was messed up, and every time I asked a question no-one seemed to know [what happened]."

After the operation, a Root Cause Analyses (RCA) report produced by the trust said the hospital was not to blame, although it did say the risks could have been explained more clearly to Mrs Graham.

Mr Colbert is identified as the lead investigator in the Root Cause Analysis Investigation

Mr Colbert, whose name was added as the lead investigator, said his only involvement in the report was when he was called on the phone by a nurse, who he said did the RCA, to explain what the operation involved.

The 48-year-old surgeon said: "I have been put down here to my amazement as the lead author on this.

"That is not correct. I did not write a word of this.

"The conclusion is the root cause of the complication was down to a bit of paperwork which could have been performed a bit better.

"The root cause was not down to paperwork. It was all covered up... that was indefensible."

Mrs Graham met Mr Colbert who explained to her what he believes happened during the operation

The RUH has declined to comment on Mr Colbert's accusations of a cover-up, although it has recently told Mrs Graham that it will reopen her complaint.

Mr Colbert, as well as a number of other surgeons the BBC has spoken to, believes Mrs Graham's procedure was not done properly.

Mrs Graham said: "It's changed my life completely, from my balancing, walking into doors, not judging space.

"I still have pain to this day, even to move the eye. The eye is not closing... and I get a lot of infections. My life has now changed."

Mrs Graham was taken by the BBC to meet Mr Colbert, who explained his concerns about the surgery to her.

She said: "I know now the truth and hopefully I can do something about it because it's wrong.

"I just wanted it fixed but now I have heard this, it's changed everything."

She has also approached the Royal College of Surgeons which has been asked by the trust to look into safety concerns raised by Mr Colbert as she wants her case looked at in detail.

Mr Colbert believes it was raising concerns like this one about Mrs Graham's surgery that led to him being investigated by the RUH trust.

He said that after a long suspension, he was sacked last year for allegedly bullying staff.

The trust had previously said it has "never dismissed anybody for raising concerns and never will".

It added that Mr Colbert's dismissal related to "significant concerns about bullying" and its investigation into his conduct was "thorough" and "robust".

He is suing the trust for loss of earnings.

In a statement, the Royal United Hospital said concerns about bullying and intimidation by Mr Colbert were "raised by a number of staff and thoroughly investigated by an independent expert as part of a robust disciplinary process."

It said it supports anyone "to raise concerns so they can be investigated and dealt with fairly".

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