Surgeon’s Procedures Linked to Multiple Deaths After Hospital Governance Failures Revealed
By Emma Walker, World-Today-News.com
A series of preventable deaths and serious patient harm have been linked to teh surgical practise of one doctor at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle,prompting a wave of grief and outrage from affected families. An internal investigation revealed notable governance failures allowed the surgeon,identified as Ms. booth, to perform a complex procedure – the Ozaki technique – without adequate oversight, ultimately contributing to devastating outcomes for at least seven patients who died, and causing significant harm to another.
The case of Mr. Philip, who died following surgery performed by Ms. Booth, initially appeared to be the result of “an unusual and complex set of circumstances,” according to a coroner’s inquest. ms. Booth herself testified she had done “the best I could.” Critically, the coroner was unaware that an internal investigation into Ms. Booth’s practices was already underway at the time of the inquest.
However,more than 18 months later,Mr. Philip’s family learned the truth: his death could have been avoided had a surgeon with the appropriate specialization been present during the operation. This delayed disclosure has fueled accusations of a cover-up and a lack of transparency from hospital administrators.
The hospital’s own internal analysis uncovered a critical flaw in its procedures: “there was no clear governance process for maintaining oversight of newly approved procedures.” This allowed Ms.Booth to perform the Ozaki procedure approximately 40 times despite the lack of robust monitoring and support. The Freeman Hospital declined to comment on how Ms. Booth initially received permission to utilize the technique.
In late 2022, the hospital began contacting families, revealing the full extent of the issue. Mr. Philip’s son, Liam, described the meeting as overwhelming.”The scale of what had gone on – we would never even begin to fathom what had happened,” he told the BBC. “We couldn’t process it at the time. We walked out of there bewildered.”
The philip family were informed they were one of eight families being contacted regarding failures in Ms. Booth’s care. The revelation has left families grappling with the knowledge that their loved ones may have survived with different medical support, and demanding answers about the systemic failures that allowed these tragedies to occur.
This story continues to develop as families seek accountability and demand a thorough review of hospital governance to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Keywords: Medical Malpractice, Surgical Error, Hospital Governance, Patient safety, Freeman Hospital, Ozaki Procedure, Medical Negligence, Inquest, Patient Harm, UK Healthcare.
