Redhill doctor's referrals were 'financially motivated'

Paul Miller's company spent £500,000 on the new technology that he championed

A doctor was "financially motivated" when he referred eight patients for a new prostate cancer treatment, a medical tribunal heard.

Paul Miller, 63, promoted the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (Hifu) without proof it was effective, the General Medical Council (GMC) said.

A company he co-owned spent £500,000 on a Hifu machine, which was rented to a private hospital, the tribunal heard.

Dr Miller denies misconduct on various dates between 2004 and 2018.

Five of the patients were being treated by the NHS at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, where Dr Miller was a consultant urologist.

They were referred for Hifu treatment at the Spire Gatwick Park Hospital, in Horley, Surrey, which used the machine owned by Dr Miller's company, the tribunal heard.

'Financial interest'

Catherine Cundy, of the GMC, said Dr Miller "had a financial interest in the provision of Hifu to Spire Gatwick Park patients," adding: "He did not disclose that financial interest to those patients, and in consequence that provided a financial motivation with selection of Hifu as a treatment."

Dr Miller had been an "early advocate" of the technique, setting up a company in 2005, the tribunal heard.

It was not considered a mainstream treatment for prostate cancer, yet Dr Miller would recommend it to patients, "despite its relative infancy and lack of established data to its long-term efficacy compared to more standard treatments," Ms Cundy said.

She said two expert witnesses would tell the tribunal that Hifu was not appropriate for the eight patients, as mainstream treatments would have "offered them better or more certain prospects".

Dr Miller is also alleged to have failed to provide adequate care to five other patients and additionally is said to have provided false evidence to a coroner in 2018.

'Missed opportunities'

He was excluded by the NHS Trust in 2013 while an investigation was carried out, the tribunal heard. He is alleged to have attempted to interfere with inquires by phoning the wife of a patient.

In October 2019, senior coroner Penelope Schofield criticised Dr Miller and Sussex and Surrey NHS Trust at inquests into the deaths of 10 of his cancer patients who died of natural causes.

She found three of the deaths had been contributed to by neglect, while "missed opportunities" were noted in three others.