Surgeon Banned By Private Practice Is Working For Nhs

A surgeon banned from moving for a backstage healthcare company, pursuing an investigation into diligent safety, continues to activity successful nan NHS, nan BBC has learned.

Nuffield Health has stopped Marc Lamah from moving successful their hospitals, but he is still operating connected patients for nan University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

An NHS diligent near pinch a twisted bowel pursuing an cognition he carried retired said he should ne'er activity again.

Mr Lamah did not respond to nan BBC's petition for remark sent via his employer.

In January the BBC revealed concerns had been raised astir Mr Lamah's complication complaint and that he was nary longer practising astatine Nuffield Health's infirmary successful Brighton pending an investigation.

A erstwhile worker astatine nan infirmary told nan BBC that soul information showed 1 3rd of Mr Lamah's patients had knowledgeable a "moderate harm event", where, for instance, a diligent had to beryllium transferred to different infirmary aliases re-admitted, complete a 12-month period. The fig should beryllium 5%, nan BBC was told.

In a connection to nan BBC, Nuffield Health said pursuing an independent investigation, "we tin corroborate Mr Lamah's practicing privileges pinch Nuffield Health person been withdrawn.

"His behaviour did not meet nan standards of aesculapian believe and governance we expect. Patient information is our apical priority, and we clasp each consultants to nan highest standards."

Mr Lamah continues to run arsenic a colorectal surgeon astatine nan Royal Sussex County Hospital successful Brighton.

The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, which runs nan hospital, told nan BBC it had audited Mr Lamah's NHS data, which showed his outcomes were wrong nan expected nationalist range. The spot added that Nuffield's investigation had recovered "no concerns pinch respect to method abilities, surgical believe aliases diligent safety".

The spot is astatine nan centre of a ample constabulary investigation, Operation Bramber, looking into astatine slightest 200 cases of alleged aesculapian negligence.

Sussex Police is examining concerns astir avoidable harm and cover-ups successful nan trust's neurosurgery and wide room departments betwixt 2015 and 2021.

The spot runs 7 hospitals crossed East and West Sussex and is 1 of nan largest organisations wrong nan NHS, providing attraction to a organization of almost 2 cardinal people.

Sheryl Hunter says she has suffered "five years of hell" aft an NHS cognition carried retired by Mr Lamah. She has to manually evacuate her bowels and has needed respective emergency admissions.

After suffering from endometriosis for a number of years, successful 2019 doctors decided that Ms Hunter, a mother of one, needed an cognition to easiness her pain.

Mr Lamah decided nan champion attack was to region a portion of her ample intestine, nan colon, and link it to her mini intestine.

A fewer days aft she was discharged, said Ms Hunter, "I felt thing pop, and this very atrocious fluid was coming retired of me".

She was rushed backmost to nan Royal Sussex wherever they discovered nan associated betwixt nan 2 intestines had torn, and "for 10 days it had been filling up my abdomen pinch bowel matter."

This is simply a known complication of this type of surgery, nan BBC understands.

Despite that problem being resolved, Ms Hunter continued to suffer utmost symptom for respective years, necessitating repeated visits to some her GP and nan Royal Sussex hospital.

She said: "I person very small bully days. By that, I mean I americium coiled up successful a shot crying.

"When I effort to spell to nan toilet, I shriek connected nan toilet successful tears because it is truthful achy to go, to unfastened up my bowels. I person to manually do that, which intends I person to deterioration gloves.

"The symptom is very terrible – it's successful my stomach, it gets into my spine, down my legs, my arms."

Letters shared pinch nan BBC by Ms Hunter show her GP wrote to Mr Lamah many times requesting he spot her again.

In January, 2023 nan GP wrote that "we person written to you connected aggregate occasions to reappraisal her and talk her options".

A fewer days later Mr Lamah replied to opportunity he had not received immoderate erstwhile letters.

But almost 12 months later, successful December 2023, nan GP wrote different missive urging Mr Lamah to spot her.

Ms Hunter told nan BBC he was "begged" by colleagues to spot her but "he refused".

Finally, successful April 2024, she was seen by different advisor astatine a different infirmary tally by nan aforesaid spot - nan Princess Royal Hospital successful Haywards Heath - erstwhile she recovered retired what was causing her pain.

"The main problem is simply a 180 grade twist connected nan mini bowel causing an soul hernia and twisting nan anastomosis [the surgical joint]," said nan discharge expanse fixed to Ms Hunter by nan infirmary aft nan procedure.

"When they did nan reconnection [of nan intestines], they put it connected backwards," Sheryl said she was told.

"That [creates] a consequence of rupture. If you rupture, it's a two-hour model earlier death.

"Had I not been manually opening my bowels for 5 years, they said that would person happened."

The spot said surgical correction was only presented arsenic 1 of a scope of possibilities.

The BBC passed nan specifications to an independent aesculapian master who said nan twist "certainly is simply a consequence of nan 2019 operation".

The spot said only a further cognition would corroborate if Mr Lamah had made an correction aliases whether nan twist had occurred naturally.

However, nan harm is now much extended than it would person been had Ms Hunter been treated earlier.

She has been told she will request pelvic reconstruction room earlier she tin person different cognition to effort to hole her intestines. She is connected a waiting database for nan first process and has spoken to Sussex Police astir her experience.

Former NHS colleagues person besides raised concerns to nan BBC astir Mr Lamah, but he continues to practise astatine nan Royal Sussex County Hospital.

"I deliberation it's disgusting. That man shouldn't beryllium allowed to touch immoderate different patients," said Ms Hunter.

"I was told Marc Lamah has a unspeakable bedside manner, but he's a awesome surgeon.

"Marc Lamar has a unspeakable bedside manner, and he's a unspeakable surgeon. He shouldn't beryllium allowed to operate, arsenic acold arsenic I'm concerned."

In a statement, Prof Katie Urch, main aesculapian serviceman for nan University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, told nan BBC: "We can't publically talk an individual's care, but we perfectly understand nan distress and trouble anyone surviving pinch ongoing analyzable wellness issues tin face.

"Our objective teams are dedicated to knowing their patients' needs and providing nan highest modular of care.

"Whilst nary aesculapian process tin guarantee a successful outcome, our teams strive for nan champion imaginable results each time – and if we ever person origin to deliberation we could person done much for a diligent we person robust systems, including nan regular usage of independent experts, to thief america study and improve."