Inquiry slams system’s “wilful blindness” that allowed rogue surgeon to carry on practising

The healthcare system was “dysfunctional at almost every level” when it came to keeping patients safe from the rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson, an independent inquiry has concluded.1

In its final report, published on Tuesday 4 February, the inquiry, led by the retired bishop Graham James, delivered a damning verdict on how Paterson, a former consultant surgeon at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, was able to continue working for more than a decade in the NHS and private sector despite numerous concerns raised about his professional competence and conduct.

Paterson was jailed for 15 years in 2017 after being convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of wounding in his treatment of 10 patients at private hospitals run by Spire Healthcare.2 The Court of Appeal later …