A CANCER surgeon is beinginvestigated after concerns were raised over the deaths of “more than 10” of his patients, it is understood.
Sudip Sarker, who worked at Worcestershire Royal Hospitaland the AlexandraHospital in Redditch, was “excluded” from working by the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in October 2012 while the General Medical Council (GMC) has also placed restrictions on his licence.
Now, hospital bosses are facing demands to publish a report about the consultant produced by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).
Medical law firm IrwinMitchell, representing patients and their families who were under Mr Sarker’s care, have demanded the trust disclose the report within the next seven days.
The trust says the document contains confidential patient information. But lawyers say they have been requesting copies since April and it would be possible to publish an editedversion.
Jennifer Emerson, an associate solicitor, said several patients had now come forward and said none of her clients had been told Sarker had been suspended or seen copies of the report.
The firm said “a whistleblower revealed that the RCS was asked to examine his [Mr Sakur’s] patient death rate and the levels of patients suffering postoperation complications”.
“It is alleged that just over one in five of his patients had to be readmitted following treatment by him, while a higher than average number of patients ended up having operations that were different to what they had expected,” it added. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the trust said they had nothing to add to a statement released on Wednesday, urging concerned patients to call a special hotline.
Mr Sarker began working for the trust in August 2011, specialising in colon and bowel cancer treatment with keyhole surgery.
He treated patients at Worcester and Redditch and performed work for private hospitals.
Ms Emerson is representing a number of families who have lost loved ones while under Mr Sarker’s care. She said: “It is appalling that despite a recommendation by the RCS the ongoing investigation has not being made public, leaving concerned patients and their families effectively in limbo wondering what has gone wrong, why and what is being done to prevent it from happening again.
“My clients, other patients and their families deserve answers about the investigation and the trust should also be looking to provide reassurance that everything possible is being done to get to the bottom of this.”
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