Mother of girl operated on 17 times by now-suspended surgeon fears she may never walk again
The mother of a young girl operated on 17 times by a now-suspended surgeon has told Sky News she’s “angry and so upset” and fears her daughter may never walk again.
Her child is only eight years old and now needs further surgery, including a hip replacement.
She was one of nine patients whose treatment fell below the expected standard at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
The Department of Health told Sky News the situation is “incredibly concerning”.
The little girl’s case was uncovered following an external review into the specialist paediatric surgeon who has since been suspended.
Sky’s Laura Bundock spoke to the girl’s mum (R), who has asked not to be named
The child was born with hip dysplasia, a condition affecting the hip socket, which can usually be fixed. But issues with her operations have left her using a wheelchair and crutches.
Her mother, who’s asked not to be named, said: “It’s like a big limp. She is not stable and can’t balance on that leg, so she always has to have an aide with her because she would fall over and hurt herself.”
Notes given to the family list a catalogue of serious issues involving the surgeon’s treatment, including “problems with both judgement and technique”.
Cambridge University Hospitals Trust is now reviewing 800 patients treated by the same surgeon.
Of these, 700 are children who underwent planned orthopaedic surgery. Another 100 are patients who received emergency trauma surgery.
Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. File pic: PA
What’s troubling the family now is that concerns were first raised about the surgeon a decade ago.
The mother said: “My daughter wasn’t born until 2016, so had the trust acted on this correctly, my daughter probably would never have seen that consultant and she would have probably been fine.”
An independent external investigation team is assessing whether issues could have been addressed earlier.
Sky News has spoken to several clinicians working at Addenbrooke’s. One is so concerned that they’ve contacted Health Secretary Wes Streeting, claiming the damage caused was “all avoidable” and that “many lives have been ruined”.
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Tammy Harrison was operated on by the now-suspended surgeon
‘The pain was all the time’
Tammy Harrison is 12 years old and has cerebral palsy. She was also operated on by the now-suspended surgeon.
There’s no evidence of any wrongdoing yet, but one of her operations didn’t work and left her in agonising pain.
“It felt like I was being stabbed. The pain was all the time, I couldn’t move and I couldn’t even get out of bed,” Tammy said.
She’s now unable to sit on the floor, and her legs are different lengths.
Her mum, Lynn, said she became worried about her care shortly after the operation.
Tammy’s mother Lynn Harrison
She said: “The pain level wasn’t deteriorating. It just seemed like she was getting worse. And at the six-week review, I asked, why is she still in so much pain? And it was just brushed underneath her carpet.”
Cambridge University Hospitals say they’re deeply sorry and will do everything they can to support families and patients.
Lawyers representing one of the families say the numbers potentially impacted are “staggering”.
Medical negligence solicitor at Osborne Law, Jodi Newton, said: “It’s clearly shocking in terms of the types of patients involved, in that most of those are children, and numbers – what we don’t know is whether there is going to be more patients than those already identified. It could be in its thousands.”
Families are now anxiously waiting for answers and the truth about their children’s treatment.
‘I wish I had spoken up more’
Lynn Harrison said: “I’m glad it’s come to light, and I wasn’t being an overprotective mum.
“But I am angry. I wish I had spoken up more and pushed further because other patients might not have had to suffer.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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