Patients of Greater Manchester spinal surgeon recalled after report's shocking findings

• Special Report by Anna Youssef, ITV News Granada Reports

A private Manchester hospital is recalling patients of a prolific spinal surgeon.

Spire Healthcare is reaching out to patients who received specific spinal procedures from 1998 onwards carried out by John Bradley Williamson. An NHS commissioned report found the spinal surgeon caused severe harm to a number of patients throughout his decades-long career.

Mr Williamson also worked at Salford Royal Hospital and the Royal Manchester Children’s and pressure is now mounting for their two NHS trusts to carry out a full recall of all his former patients.

Catherine O’Connor was only 17 when she bled out on an operating table at Salford Royal Hospital in 2007.

The teenager, born with spina bifida, had hoped surgery to straighten her spine would change her life. It would take years and three commissioned reports for Catherine’s family to find out what really happened.

The latest, commissioned by the Northern Care Alliance and published in March, concluded the 'unacceptable' and 'unjustifiable' actions of her surgeon John Bradley Williamson 'directly contributed' to her death.

Mr Williamson had pressed on with the high risk surgery despite never having done it before and being explicitly told he needed a second surgeon to help him. The report also found he misled the coroner at Catherine's inquest about the severity of her blood loss.

The coroner has now asked for her death to be reviewed by Greater Manchester Police.

The report by barrister Carlo Breen found four in every 10 of Mr Williamson’s patients developed complications or had to be rushed back to surgery and that a number of colleagues had tried to raise concerns for years but were ignored or felt intimidated.

Mr Williamson, who has never been charged with any criminal offences, was sacked in 2015 for inappropriate behaviour towards a female member of staff. The report found the hospital trust did not properly investigate allegations of bullying and unsafe care and had it done so, further harm to patients could have been avoided.

Emily Bhogal was 12 when Mr Williamson carried out surgery to treat her Scoliosis. She had two metal rods and 10 screws inserted into her back.

Days after surgery she collapsed with a life threatening medical condition which the surgeon denied was related to the operation.

She has since found out at least five of the screws were put in the wrong place.

Emily said: "I just constantly feel as if my rods are being torn out of my back. It feels as if they are moving constantly and it doesn't feel as if they are in place. It doesn't feel as if they are where they are supposed to be."

The mother of one said: "When I initially had the surgery my posture was very straight. Now I can't sit back in a chair I am constantly leant forward.

"I have no flexibility in my spine whatsoever so I struggle on a day to day basis getting up, getting dressed.

"Sometimes I can’t get out of bed in the morning due to this but it has gradually got worse since the surgery and I wasn't in this pain before the surgery."

Emily, who has had to give up her job as a teacher due to her health issues, added: "The amount of reports and the amount of issues that have come up with this spinal surgeon- why wasn't this looked at before?

"Why have patients not been listened to? Why have parents not been listened to? Lives have been lost and lives have been damaged."

In March, Emily received a letter saying her treatment had been reviewed as part of an investigation by the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Their findings concluded: "There was no harm resulting from your spinal surgery… the spinal team noted a good correction of the shape of your spine with appropriate position of rods and screws."

But her current spinal surgeon, who has examined her in person, has confirmed at least five of the ten screws in her back are misplaced.

Emily said: "We are just getting the same blanket emails to say that there is nothing wrong.

"I don't think they want to accept responsibility for what has happened and I think the trust are at as much fault as Mr Williamson.

That surgeon was complained about to the trust numerous times and it wasn't listened to and now that it has come out in the media and so many people are coming together to bring this to light."

In a statement, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said “We have contacted every patient, or their family, whose care has been considered as part of the review.

"We understand Mrs Bhogal has concerns about the findings of this process and we’re very happy to meet with her to discuss her treat

ment and the findings of our review.”

The trust added: "The scope of our review was developed with consideration of the National Quality Board’s Recall Framework.

"Any former patient of Surgeon A, whether in scope of the review or not, can ask us to review their care.

"They can do this by contacting us at spinal.review@mft.nhs.uk or by calling 0161 701 5659."

Catherine Slattery, a Group Actions Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell who represents a number of Mr Williamson’s former patients, said there should be a full recall.

She said: "Two decades, three reports and yet no patients have been formally recalled and reviewed. It’s absolutely unacceptable.

"My worry and concern is that my patients have not had their voices heard at all in the review process so far conducted by both NHS trusts and actually it is the patients themselves who are having to contact the NHS trust to ask to be reviewed and that shouldn't be the way that things are happening.

"Particularly following the issues that we have had in this country in recent years in relation to surgeons performing surgery that is of concern."

The solicitor believes the issue may be the sheer number of patients that would need to be seen if there was a full recall under the NHS Recall Framework.

Journalist Anna Youssef joined presenters Gamal Fahnbulleh and Lucy Meacock in the studio.

She said: "It’s the sheer number of patients that would need to be reviewed - that's the concern I presume the NHS trusts have.

"He worked there from the early 90s until 2015 so it

must be if not hundreds then probably thousands of patients that need to be reviewed so I presume it’s to do with the administration and the sheer scale of trying to run a recall clinic of that magnitude would be huge."

The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Salford Royal Hospital said: "We have shared the Spinal Patient Safety Look Back Review (SPSLBR) and the Breen report in full on our website for everyone to read.

"We have provided an initial response to the Breen report, which includes our position in relation to each of the recommendations made by Mr Breen. We are focusing our attention on these recommendations. Our priority at this time are

our patients and colleagues affected by these circumstances."

The trust's website states "any patient who still has concerns has been advised to speak to their clinician or contact us through our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 778 5665 or pals@nca.nhs.uk Monday to Friday between 09.30 to 16.30 hours. "

In a statement given to ITV Granada Reports, John Bradley Williamson or Brad Williamson, as he now identifies himself, said: “In reviewing cases from 26 years ago, it is important to recognise that standards in many aspects of practice have changed considerably since 1998.

“I have always made patient care my first priority and recent reports of reviews have acknowledged evidence of good outcomes, some in very complex cases.

“I have considered the Executive Summary to the Investigation Report prepared on behalf of The Northern Care Alliance by Carlo Breen.

"It covers events between 2006 and 2023 and action taken or not taken by the Trust and its predecessor. Insofar as it related to the care provided by me, it is important to recognise that standards in many aspects of practice have changed considerably since 2006.

“I have always made patient care my first priority. I will consider and reflect on the findings of the Report. There are findings and conclusions with which I do not agree.”

Spire Healthcare says it has already carried out a "comprehensive recall of patients who underwent specific spinal procedures by Mr Williamson between 2008-2013’.

Mr Williamson stopped performing surgery at Spire Manchester Hospital in 2013, according to the private healthcare group.

Spire says the five-year period and scope of patients reviewed was "in line with the patient recalls carried out by the local NHS Trusts, where Mr Williamson also practised."

It will now contact a further group of patients dating back to 1998 treated by John Bradley Williamson and review their care.

A statement on its website said: "At the end of each phase of a patient recall, Spire considers whether additional patients should be contacted.

"Based on the findings to date, Spire has decided to extend the recall to cover all patients who received specific spinal procedures from 1998, when Mr Williamson started to perform these surgeries at Spire Manchester, to ensure that all patients have received an appropriate standard of care."

Dr Cathy Cale, Spire’s Group Medical Director, said: "We are committed to reviewing the care of all patients where concerns are raised. As we near the completion of the review of Mr Williamson’s patients who underwent certain procedures in the last five years that he performed surgery at Spire Manchester, we have concluded we should try to review all his patients that received these procedures.

"We recognise that it will be challenging to carry out a recall dating back to 1998 but we will endeavour to be as thorough as possible and to support those patients involved in the process."

Spire is currently in the process of identifying the patients to be contacted and will then write to them. If any Spire Manchester patients have questions about the review of their care under Mr Williamson, they areadvised to email spirepne@spirehealthcare.com.

At the end of each phase of a patient recall, Spire says it considers whether additional patients should be contacted.

Based on the findings to date, Spire has announced its decision to extend the recall to cover all patients who received specific spinal procedures from 1998, when Mr Williamson started to perform surgeries at Spire Manchester, ‘to ensure that all patients have received an appropriate standard of care’.

Dr Cale added: “We are committed to reviewing the care of all patients where concerns are raised. As we near the completion of the review of Mr Williamson’s patients who underwent certain procedures in the last five years that he performed surgery at Spire Manchester, we have concluded we should try to review all his patients that received these procedures.

“We recognise that it will be challenging to carry out a recall dating back to 1998 but we will endeavour to be as thorough as possible and to support those patients involved in the process.”

A support group of former patients and families is continuing to campaign for an full independent clinical review into Mr Williamson.