John Bradley Williamson: NHS England Announce Fresh Review Into Manchester Spinal Surgeon's Practice

A fresh investigation into operations carried out by a Manchester surgeon found to have harmed patients has been announced.

NHS England has said it will look back into two hospital reviews that examined the care provided by John Bradley Williamson, reports the BBC. The surgeon worked at Salford Royal Hospital and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital from 1991 to 2015 when he was sacked.

The latest review comes after patients raised concerns that the previous reviews were too limited.

Medical negligence lawyers call for a full recall of patients

However, campaigners and expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell who are representing patients who underwent surgery performed by Mr Williamson, are continuing to call for a full recall of all patients who he operated on.

Those who have concerns over their treatment encouraged to come forward

Catherine Slattery, a specialist group actions medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, is encouraging those who still have concerns about their care to come forward so they can secure answers and specialist support and rehabilitation.

Expert Opinion

“While the announcement of another review is welcome, it will not on its own address the wider concerns that many patients, including our clients, continue to have. Previous reviews were too limited in scope and didn’t consider the individual views of patients and their treatment.

“Existing reports already point to worrying issues in the care some patients received. However, they still only cover a limited timeframe of Mr Williamson’s practice.

“All the patients we represent have legitimate and serious concerns about the care they received, irrespective of when they underwent operations. As such, we continue to call for a full recall of all Mr Williamson’s patients. Only with all the facts can all necessary measures be taken to ensure all lessons are learned to improve wider patient safety.

“The needs of patients must come first and it’s vital they’re supported at this difficult time, not only to receive the answers they deserve, but where appropriate, access to the specialist support and rehabilitation they may require.

"Any new review must be as thorough and transparent as possible in order to satisfy our clients’ concerns going forward and will be a key component in ensuring public confidence in the system is maintained." Catherine Slattery

Spinal surgeon John Bradley Williamson: Background

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which now runs Salford Royal, launched a review examining Mr Williamson’s work while he was employed by the former Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust which used to run the hospital. 

Investigation found people suffered harm

The investigation which scrutinised the cases of more than 130 patients operated on by Mr Williamson between 2009 and 2014 found seven people suffered “severe harm” while 13 suffered “moderate harm”.

The report found issues including substandard surgery, patients suffering long-term pain and mobility issues, while those operated on suffered higher than expected blood loss as well as a lack of informed consent from patients.

Last March 2024, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, published its report into Mr Williamson’s practice relating to 56 patients operated on at the children’s hospital.

It found some patients had suffered “severe harm”.

Meanwhile in May 2024, Spire Healthcare extended its recall of patients operated on by Mr Williamson at the private provider’s Manchester hospital. 

Originally the review covered those who underwent surgery at Spire Manchester between 2008 and 2013, when Mr Williamson stopped working at the site. 

However, it expanded the review to 1998 covering the entirety of when Mr Williamson carried out operations.

Following the latest announcement, Mr Williamson told the BBC that he had "always strived to provide the very best care for patients" and would cooperate with any patient care investigation.

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in supporting patients affected by surgery issues at our dedicated medical negligence section. Alternatively, to speak to an expert contact us or call 0370 1500 100.