NHS Trust Sets Up Helpline And Writes To 1000 Cancer Patients Over Concerns About Their Treatment

A helpline has been set up and more than 1000 cancer patients are being written to this week over concerns about treatment they may have received at East Surrey Hospital by Consultant urologist Paul Miller.

Paul Miller has now been sacked from his role at Earlswood Hospital after an investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found 27 people have come to “serious significant harm” because of the treatment they received under his care.

He also worked at Spire Gatwick Park Hospital in Horley but has been banned from treating urological cancer patients while an investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) is carried out.

The RCS review was commissioned after Mr Miller’s fellow consultants and specialist nurses expressed concerns about his practice in November last year and he was suspended the following month after investigations found said that 1,200 of his patients, dating back to 2006, needed to be reviewed.

Michael Wilson, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, told the Surrey Mirror: “Without a shadow of a doubt we apologised unreservedly for the care these patients experienced.

“We dismissed this urologist from his post.”

The care of a further small number of patients also fell below hospital standards, the trust said.

Mr Wilson would not be drawn on details of the errors, but confirmed Mr Miller had not “followed the advice of multi-disciplinary teams in carrying out established and recognised cancer treatments”.

The affected patients were due to receive letters on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Spire Gatwick Park Hospital Director John Crisp confirmed they suspended Mr Miller in December 2013 and are working in conjunction with Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust to review the medical records of patients as quickly as possible.

Concerned East Surrey Hospital patients can call a helpline on 0808 168 7754 Monday to Friday, between 11am and 7pm.

If you or a loved suffered due to a surgical error or negligence, our medical negligence lawyers could help you secure compensation. Visit our Surgery Compensation Claims page for more information.

Expert Opinion

We are very worried about the vast scale of patients potentially affected by Paul Miller’s substandard treatment. We urge anyone who has concerns to call the helpline as quickly as possible to ensure they can be given the correct support. <br/> <br/>“We have serious concerns about the fact patients have come to ‘serious significant harm’ and everything must be done to get to the bottom of how it was possible for so many people to be put at risk and whether more could have been done to intervene sooner. <br/> <br/>“Patients and their families who believe they fell victim to negligent surgery by Mr Miller deserve transparency from the Trust about any developments in the case. Those treated privately by him will also want reassurance about the standard of their care and we hope Spire will carry out a thorough review as quickly as possible. <br/> <br/>“It is vital the relevant authorities including the GMC, RCS, NHS Trust and Spire now work together to investigate exactly what has gone wrong to ensure patients receive the correct support and to put measures in place that protect patient safety and prevent the same scandal from ever happening again.” <br/> Alison Eddy - Partner