Paediatric hip surgeon in Cambridge suspended by Addenbrookes Hospital
Posted: 27/03/2025
A paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, the designated major trauma centre for the East of England, has been suspended. The NHS trust responsible for Addenbrookes (Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) recently confirmed that, following concerns raised by employees, it had commissioned an external review into the practice of one of the hospital's paediatric orthopaedic surgeons.
The independent expert reviewed a number of complex paediatric hip surgery cases over the course of the last two and a half years and found that operations involving nine children fell below the expected standards. As a consequence of that external review, the surgeon - who it is said cannot be named for legal reasons – was suspended and the trust announced a retrospective external review into its practice. Roland Skinner, the trust's chief executive, has apologised for what has happened and confirmed that affected patients will be contacted.
In a separate update on 24 March 2025, the trust provided further information about the surgeon in question. It confirmed that concerns were raised about the surgeon as early as 2015, that an independent external review in 2016 identified concerns about the care provided by the surgeon and made recommendations. The Trust has confirmed that it is investigating whether those recommendations were implemented and, if not, why not. It also promised that a thorough independent panel will now review the care of approximately 800 patients (almost 700 child patients and 100 trauma patients) who have received treatment from the surgeon. The findings from those external reviews will be published once they are concluded.
Arran Macleod, a solicitor in the clinical negligence team at Penningtons Manches Cooper specialising in orthopaedic negligence claims, comments: "The revelation that a number of patients have been found to have suffered unacceptable care suggests that, once the full review of 800 patients is complete, many more child and adult patients will have been identified as suffering avoidable injuries. These issues are potentially more concerning due to the fact that concerns about this surgeon were raised 10 years ago and the trust seems unsure whether 2016 recommendations to promote patient safety were implemented. If they weren't, then this would suggest an overall systemic failure by the hospital to ensure the safety of its patients."
Penningtons Manches Cooper specialises in supporting patients who have sustained injuries as a result of medical negligence by helping them to understand what has happened and exploring their options for improving their clinical outcome and obtaining compensation for their injuries through the claims process.
Having worked on a range of cases involving surgeons accused of performing unnecessary procedures, the clinical negligence team has access to a pool of esteemed orthopaedic and other medical specialists who can provide impartial opinions on the necessity of treatments and the quality of surgery performed.
In general, there is a three year limitation period for clinical negligence claims. However, it is important to note that, where the claim relates to a child, the three year limitation date does not begin to run until the child’s 18th birthday.
If you or a member of your family have concerns about care received from the orthopaedic team at Addenbrookes Hospital, please do not hesitate to contact the clinical negligence team for an initial, no obligation discussion about your options.
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