Colleague Describes Jailed Breast Surgeon as a “Nightmare”

An inquest was informed that a breast surgeon, Ian Paterson, who performed unauthorized mastectomies, was considered a “nightmare” colleague. Consultant surgeon Paterson received a 20-year prison sentence in 2017 following his conviction on 20 counts of wounding. Since July 2020, over 60 inquests have been initiated concerning the fatalities of his previous patients. On Wednesday, Dr. Chris Fletcher, a consultant radiologist at Solihull Hospital and a former colleague of Paterson, testified, describing their relationship as “frosty” at various points. During the inquest for Elaine Turbill, aged 63, which is the second of 62 scheduled over the coming eight months, Dr. Fletcher stated that he and Paterson collaborated from 1998 to 2011. Ms. Turbill underwent a procedure by Paterson known as a cleavage-sparing mastectomy, a technique that leaves a portion of the breast, thereby elevating the risk of cancer recurrence. She subsequently succumbed to metastatic cancer. Dr. Fletcher informed the Birmingham and Solihull Coroners Court that examining mammograms of Paterson’s patients constituted at least “90%” of his professional duties, both within the NHS and at private Spire hospitals. He characterized their professional association as “complex” and “difficult” due to Paterson’s operational methods, which ultimately led him to file a complaint against Paterson. “He was a nightmare,” Dr. Fletcher stated. He added, “He was quite aggressive and quite demanding in a way I had never come across before.” According to Dr. Fletcher, multidisciplinary meetings among NHS colleagues, convened to discuss patient treatment, were “always difficult.” Dr. Fletcher remarked, “[Paterson] always tried to run the show.” He further explained, “We had a period where he was flooding me with work and I was struggling to cope.” The professional relationship between them worsened after Dr. Fletcher, along with other colleagues, co-signed a letter expressing concerns regarding Paterson. Dr. Fletcher initially considered the imprisoned surgeon to be merely an “efficient and competent surgeon.” However, his apprehension about Paterson’s mastectomy procedures grew after he identified a tumor on a patient’s mammogram that Paterson had overlooked during surgery. “He had been arrogant and just done what he wanted to do and hadn’t looked at the mammogram,” he testified at the inquest. “We were all a bit shell-shocked and embarrassed by that. Nobody ever flagged it as perhaps it should have been flagged.” On 21 October, Judge Richard Foster mandated Paterson to provide testimony at all 62 inquests, following an application by Paterson’s legal team to revoke a witness summons requiring his evidence. Paterson consented to testify remotely from prison during Mrs. Turbill’s inquest on Thursday. The initial inquest, which examined the death of Chloe Nikitas, 43, was postponed on 24 October to an unspecified future date. Mrs. Turbill’s inquest is ongoing. Updates from BBC Birmingham are available on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Details regarding its approach to external linking are provided.