Ian Paterson: High Court approves £37m compensation for breast surgeon's victims

A High Court judge in London has approved a £37 million compensation plan for hundreds of victims of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson.

The figure will be paid to private patients of the rogue surgeon who suffered needless operations after he exaggerated or invented cancer risks.

Paterson, 59, was jailed for 20 years after he was found guilty in April at Nottingham Crown Court wounding offences against 10 patients.

The current High Court case was brought by private patients of Paterson seeking compensation for their injuries.

Mrs Justice Whipple expressed her "heartfelt " sympathy to the victims whose trust was "betrayed" by Paterson as she approved the compensation deal, which was outlined earlier this month.

Around 750 private patients treated by Paterson will get a payout from the fund.

Paterson's victims said they were left in constant pain and unable to trust medical professionals after learning they had undergone highly invasive surgery which they had not needed.

One woman described looking like a "car crash victim", while another said she was left with a "significant deformity in her visible cleavage area".

It also emerged during his trial that the rogue surgeon, who treated thousands of patients during his career, also claimed payments for more expensive procedures than those he actually carried out.

The surgeon has never admitted why he misled patients, though prosecutors suggested that financial gain was part of the motive.

Paterson's conviction opened the way for a slew of negligence cases against the surgeon and his employers at Spire Healthcare.

The current package was agreed to settle litigation which had been due to start shortly.

Spire Healthcare, which runs private hospitals in the West Midlands where Paterson worked, will contribute £27.2million to the total fund.

A further £10 million is to be provided by Paterson's insurers and his former employers, the Heart of England NHS Trust.