Payouts bill rises over surgeon complaints

Last year it was revealed Rotherham Hospital had settled 10 claims involving operations carried out by orthopaedic surgeon Manjit Bhamra with payouts totalling £1,010,250.

It has now emerged two more payments of £32,500 and £5,034 have been made. There are potentially many more claims in the pipeline after 85 people approached Irwin Mitchell, one of the law firms co-ordinating legal action, following publicity surrounding the case last summer.

Individual payments have so far ranged from £1,750 up to £500,000. The hospital has admitted liability for negligence in half of the 12 settled cases and made payments but no admission in the other six.

The claims relate to hip, knee, elbow and shoulder operations and focus on the period from 2005 to 2007, the year Mr Bhamra left Rotherham Hospital.

Since January 2008, Mr Bhamra has been employed as an orthopaedic surgeon at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust which has no concerns about his clinical practice.

He retains a full licence to practise and does not face any proceedings in front of the General Medical Council

Irwin Mitchell associate solicitor Tim Annett said: “Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are working closely with Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS Litigation Authority to come to an agreement as to how best deal with claims arising from treatment provided by Mr Bhamra.”