A shoulder surgeon has put hundreds of patients at risk at an NHS Trust in West Midlands due to faulty operations over a decade, media reports said.
More than 600 complaints were received against Mian Munawar Shah who has been practicing at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Following a series of complaints, the NHS Trust has set up a helpline and will contact up to 600 patients, reported The Telegraph.
The surgeon’s practice has been temporarily restricted following an interim hearing in June last year. It prohibited him from doing Latarjet procedures or shoulder joint replacements without supervision. These restrictions will be in place until Sept 23 2023.
According to reports, patients are complaining about ‘constant pain’ after undergoing surgery by Shah.
One female patient said that she is unable to raise her arm after the operation.
The surgeon severed the radial nerve of Joanna Aldridge during surgery at a private hospital run by Spire Healthcare in 2010. She later won compensation for medical negligence in 2016. Spire Healthcare said that Shah left Spire Little Aston in March 2020.
She has written to the General Medical Council requesting to investigate Shah. But it was denied as the authority said the incident occurred ‘long ago’.
Nick Tubb, of Shoosmiths, which represented Aldridge, claims that there was a ‘missed opportunity’ nearly six years ago.
“I can understand administrative reasons why they might have a time limit, but a time limit seems rather arbitrary when a clinician is continuing to practice and the patient safety issue is still very much relevant,” he told The Telegraph.
Another patient Angela Glover underwent two operations by Shah. The doctor had inappropriately placed a screw during the first procedure.
According to Glover’s partner Simon Roberts, she was in ‘constant pain’ and it has affected her mental health as well.
“Angela’s not confident to hold a baby and that’s very frustrating if you can’t pick your grandchildren up and hold them. I see the tears in her eyes sometimes and that breaks my heart too,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Two years ago, the NHS trust invited the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out a review of its surgery. Another review trauma and orthopaedic surgery happened last year.
The RCS urged the Trust to ensure patient safety and to improve the services. It also recommended a recall of Shah’s patients.
Professor David Loughton, chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We want to offer our sincere apologies to those patients who have been affected as a result of having surgery by Mr Shah and we are contacting those involved to support them wherever we can, and update them throughout this process.
“I would also like to reassure patients who have been contacted that we are doing all we can, as quickly as we can, to review their medical notes, to establish whether they have been adversely affected by this particular complex surgery.”
