NEWS
Acute care
Another Spire doctor accused of unnecessary procedures A doctor who worked at the same private hospital as rogue breast surgeon, Ian Paterson, has been accused of carrying out unnecessary operations on a significant number of patients. Michael Walsh, a shoulder surgeon, was sacked by Spire Healthcare after numerous patients and colleagues reported him to the General Medical Council (GMC) with concerns about his work. Many patients have since filed lawsuits against Walsh, claiming he performed surgery on them between 2012 and 2018 without any medical justification, leaving many in pain, traumatised and unable to work.
The GMC has identified almost 50 patients it believes Walsh might have harmed. Walsh carried out shoulder operations, shoulder replacements and also administered injections. He has retired and is no longer licensed to practise as a doctor. The news comes just weeks after an official inquiry found multiple blunders by Spire Healthcare and the NHS enabled Paterson to carry out unnecessary and damaging surgery on hundreds of patients. He was jailed in April 2017 after carrying out “extensive, life-changing operations for no medically justifiable reason”, after
being found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent. His initial jail term of 15 years was increased to 20. When Paterson operated on women who did have breast cancer, he put them at increased risk of relapsing by using a technique which left lots of the breast tissue behind. Spire, which runs 39 private hospitals in the UK and employs 7,000 doctors and surgeons, has shelled out £27.2 million in compensation to Paterson’s victims. A spokesperson for Spire said: “After concerns were raised about Mr Walsh, an investigation was
started in April 2018, and he was suspended immediately. We have asked the Royal College of Surgeons to assist with this investigation and have shared the findings with the Care Quality Commission and the GMC. “Where we have identified concerns about the care a patient received, we have invited the patient to an appointment with an independent surgeon to review their treatment. This is a complex case and the review is ongoing. Spire reiterates its sincere apologies to those patients who have been affected by the treatment they received from Mr Walsh.”
NHS Digital and PHIN collaborate for data changes NHS Digital and the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) have launched a consultation to align private healthcare data with NHS recorded activity. The consultation sets out a series of changes to how data is recorded and managed across private and NHS care, along with a series of pilot projects, based upon feedback from various stakeholders. It aims to seek the views of private and NHS providers, clinicians, the public and other organisations with an interest in private healthcare and will be used to help shape the future changes. The consultation, which has been launched following the publication of the Paterson Inquiry, will be hosted on the NHS Digital Consultation Hub. Under the changes proposed in the Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt), PHIN will share the national dataset of private admitted patient care in England with NHS Digital, creating a single source of healthcare data in England. This follows the Paterson Inquiry’s recommendation to create a single repository for information about consultants’ performance in private and public healthcare across England.
HealthInvestor UK • April 2020
The repository will have common standards for recording and reporting activity, quality and risk in a consistent way across both public and private healthcare. It will allow providers, care planners, regulators and researchers to understand better how private and public healthcare data sits alongside each other and how it can be used to deliver better care. NHS Digital will also pilot collecting data directly from independent providers on privately funded care within its Secondary Uses Service, consolidating the data reporting processes and reducing the administrative burden on hospitals. This data will be shared with PHIN so it can assess whether it would be suitable to use for the publication of hospital and consultant performance information as mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority. Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “Regardless of where you’re treated or how your care is funded, everybody deserves safe, compassionate care. The recent Paterson Inquiry highlighted the shocking failures that can occur when information is not shared and acted upon in both the NHS and independent sector.”
Tom Denwood, executive director of data, insights and statistics at NHS Digital, said: “In light of the conclusion of the Paterson Inquiry the ability to provide greater transparency in quality and safety and to improve patient care is more important than ever. We would like to encourage feedback on this consultation, especially from patient groups, professional bodies, and providers of care, to help it draw its important conclusions on if and how to create this alignment.” Matt James, chief executive of PHIN, said: “The Paterson Inquiry showed that joined-up information is essential, and patients considering private healthcare can already use PHIN’s website to search information on more than 2,500 consultants covering both their NHS and private practice. The ADAPt programme
will make PHIN’s data on private healthcare more easily available to the NHS to improve governance. We encourage everyone to voice their support for this important initiative to improve patient safety.” David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, commented: “The recent Paterson inquiry report rightly called for much more of a ‘whole systems’ approach to patient safety and data transparency. In seeking to better align NHS and independent sector data, the ADAPt programme represents a key step towards the seamless flow of data along the patient journey – helping to ensure full visibility of the safety and effectiveness of care delivered by all providers, and enabling patients to make the most informed choices about their treatment.”
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