Investigation into Coventry Neurosurgeon

It has recently been reported by the BBC that a Consultant Neurosurgeon at University Hospital provided unacceptable treatment which left a woman struggling to walk after a review by independent medical experts.

The medical records and scans of the procedure performed in 2014 were shown by the BBC to specialists, with the resultant response highly critical. Among the specialists was Nick Birch, former secretary of the British Association of Spine Surgeons who commented that all but two of the seven screws that had been attached to the patient’s spine during the procedure were in the wrong place or with incorrect application. In Mr Birch’s opinion the screws breached the spinal canal causing neurological impairment that left the patient incontinent and virtually unable to walk. He called it an “unacceptable rate of failure”.

In 2017, a review of the Neurosurgeon’s work was commissioned by the hospital which was carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). Following investigation, the RCS concluded that without further training, the surgeon should no longer carry out two kinds of procedures – complex spinal operations and brain surgery while patients were awake.

The BBC reports that when contacted University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said it would not comment on whether the surgeon had since received the training, but said they was not currently working in the area of complex spinal surgery.

If you would like further advice in connection with the matters raised in this article then please contact Mr McCusker on 0800 731 2852 or 02476 229 582.