Oldham doctor who lied about age and killed patient during routine procedure jailed

A doctor who killed a mother-of-three after botching a routine procedure has been jailed for three years.

Dr Isyaka Mamman, 85, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter after Shahida Parveen, 48, died in 2018 at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

He had been carrying out a routine appointment to take samples but used the wrong needle, inserting it in the wrong place, piercing the sac holding Mrs Parveen’s heart.

Mamman, who was 81 at the time had already been suspended for lying about his age.

He was sacked but then re-employed by the hospital, where he was responsible for a series of critical incidents before the fatal appointment.

Jailing him for three years at Manchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice Yip said the death was his main responsibility but the hospital trust should have done more after Dr Mamman had lied about his age and botched two earlier similar procedures, injuring patients.

She called the execution of the procedure on Mrs. Parveen "grossly incompetent."

Ms Parveen had gone to the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy and had been advised that the routine procedure was allocated to Mamman, who was working as a specialty doctor in haematology.

Normally, bone marrow samples are taken from the hip bone but Mamman failed to obtain a sample at the first attempt.

Instead, he attempted a rare and "highly dangerous" procedure of getting a sample from Ms Parveen’s chest – despite objections from her and her husband.

Mamman, using the wrong biopsy needle, missed the bone and pierced her pericardium, the sac containing the heart, causing massive internal bleeding.

Ms Parveen lost consciousness as soon as the needle was inserted, with her husband running from the room shouting: "He killed her. I told him to stop three times and he did not listen. He killed her."

Following her death, a consultant provided an expert opinion that the procedure had been inappropriately and incompetently performed.

The court heard that at the time of Mrs Parveen’s death, there were no standard operating procedures, guidelines or local safety standards for taking bone marrow biopsies.

Three years before Mrs Parveen died, Mamman had performed the same procedure on a 64-year- old man who suffered a cardiac arrest. He survived but was left permanently disabled.

Sentencing, Mrs Justice Yip said the mother of three "had been badly let down" and a custodial sentence was "inevitable".

Dr Chris Brookes, Group Chief Doctor and Deputy Chief Executive for the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital, said: “We wish again to offer our sincerest condolences to Mrs Parveen’s family and friends and we are deeply sorry for their loss.

"We would like to reiterate our sincere apology previously provided to Mrs Parveen’s family. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to them.

“Following Mrs Parveen’s death in September 2018, the Trust launched a thorough internal investigation to examine the circumstances leading up to and following this tragic incident. The Trust implemented improvements following investigation which were shared with Mrs Parveen's family.

“The Trust has admitted liability in relation to a civil claim brought by the family.

“The Trust has liaised closely with Greater Manchester Police throughout their investigation and the subsequent legal proceedings concerning Dr Mamman.”

Oldham MP Jim McMahon said: "This is a very concerning tragedy, my thoughts are with the family affected and we need to understand why the Trust did not do more.

"To instil confidence the hospital must be open and transparent and forthcoming when mistakes are made.

"On this and the previous IT failure it is clear more can be done to be proactive in communicating with the public on issues that arise.”