Five hospitals linked to disgraced Great Ormond Street surgeon

An investigation into disgraced bone surgeon Mr Yaser Jabbar has been widened to cover five London hospitals, as 721 patients’ care is being reviewed.

His work at St John and St Elizabeth Hospital and Cromwell Hospital, both private, is now being looked into in addition to the Portland Hospital and two NHS hospitals, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

A leaked extract of a damning report, by the Royal College of Surgeons, concludes children had “incorrect” and “unsuitable” orthopaedic surgery under Mr Jabbar’s care at GOSH.

This left many with life-altering conditions and suffering from severe harm.

The report has finally been released to some patients’ families and BBC News has obtained a copy.

It highlights a number of issues in the complex lower-limb reconstruction unit at GOSH, including “a lack of a cohesive, united and functional team and department” compounded “by a lack of direction and effective management and leadership”.

The review team also found “serious concerns in relation with the working culture”, with staff saying the working environment was “toxic” and they had been “dismissed and subject to unacceptable and unprofessional behaviours, including verbal aggression”.

Staff were also “upset about the standard of care”, which was “unsatisfactory” in some cases, the report said.

And staff in operating theatres did not always feel confident to raise questions or issues over important elements of patient care with surgeons.

The GOSH Trust “had not been delivering a safe service for patients”, the review team added.

The lawyer representing families of children treated by Mr Jabbar at GOSH, the Portland Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital welcomed the widening investigation, calling for full transparency.

“Sadly, at Great Ormond Street, in many of the cases we have seen so far, there has been a lack of documentation available with regards to Mr Jabbar’s decision-making process when treating patients and his consultation with other colleagues and parents, which has raised concerns over the governance and management of the department as a whole,” Caroline Murgatroyd, of Hudgell Solicitors, said.

“It will be interesting to see how Mr Jabbar was managed when working in other hospitals and whether any concerns were raised at any of these locations when he was treating children.”

St John and St Elizabeth Hospital said there had been three adult inpatient procedures there between October 2020 and January 2023, when Mr Jabbar had had practising privileges there, but no concerns had been raised about his practice.

“Alongside several other providers, we are working closely with Great Ormond Street Hospital to assist them in their review,” the hospital said.

Cromwell Hospital said Mr Jabbar had operated on 12 adults and six children, during the short time he worked there.

“We received no complaints about Mr Jabbar’s treatment,” it said.

“Since the concerns around Mr Jabbar came to light, we have proactively contacted all patients directly and are continuing to stay in close contact while this investigation proceeds.”

The hospital was committed to the highest standards of care, it added.