To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that patients treated by Ian Paterson at the hospitals operated by Spire Healthcare have been given ongoing treatment plans appropriate to their health needs, as recommended by the Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson, HC 31, published in February 2020.
Answered on
12 March 2021
We will be providing the Government’s initial response to the Paterson Inquiry shortly, which will update on progress in our consideration of the Report’s recommendations.
We have been in regular communication with Spire Healthcare to monitor the progress of its recall. By December 2020 Spire Healthcare had contacted approximately 5,500 known living patients of Ian Paterson for whom they have addresses. Spire Healthcare is currently ensuring that the care of those patients has been fully reviewed, that the outcome of the reviews has been fully communicated to them and that, if required, they are getting the support and care that they need. Additionally, several hundred people have contacted Spire as a result of the letters sent out last year. A proportion of these are having their care reviewed by an independent consultant surgeon and some have been referred for counselling, follow up support or, where clinically appropriate, treatment. Spire Healthcare will continue their review of patients’ care during 2021.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 introduced a statutory duty of candour. Providers must ensure that they have processes in place to ensure staff are supported to deliver the duty of candour and have a system in place to identify and deal with possible breaches by registered staff. The Care Quality Commission published updated guidance on the duty of candour on 11 March 2021 which has been informed by the recommendation of the Paterson Inquiry about apologising to patients when things go wrong. The updated guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/stories/updated-guidance-meeting-duty-candour