£1m cost of payoutsfor cancer surgery botches

THE compensation bill for breast cancer patients who suffered botched operations by the same surgeon has reached almost 1m and and may rise further.

More than 30 women aged between 30 and 65 complained about the quality of their treatment following surgery by Puvaneswary Markandoo, who worked at Barnsley Hospital.

They claimed to have experienced pain and disfigurement as a result and the Yorkshire Post revealed last month that Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had paid 678,245 in compensation to 19 of those patients, an average settlement of 35,697 each.

It has now emerged a further three cases have been settled, an average of more than 100,000 going to those women.

The trust revealed under the Freedom of Information Act that it had paid an additional 305,809 to settle further outstanding cases, taking the overall bill to 948,054.

Three further cases are still the subject of negotiation, so the overall bill is likely to rise further before the matter is brought to a close.

Most of the women operated on by the surgeon, who earned up to 122,000 a year as a consultant, were having reconstructive surgery after suffering breast cancer.

A spokesman for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “A total of 22 cases concerning Miss Markandoo have now settled and the total compensation payments in connection with these claims now totals 984,054.

“There are three outstanding claims remaining and the trust's solicitors and the solicitors for the remaining claimants are continuing to investigate the claims in the hope that they will shortly be brought to a swift conclusion.”

Miss Markandoo was suspended on full pay after concerns were raised by many of the women on whom she had operated.

Twenty-nine of those women proceeded with compensation claims, although four of those claims were discontinued because of lack of evidence.

The trust spokesman added: “Once the trust identified a problem with treatment provided by Miss Markandoo to patients in the Barnsley breast clinic it took the proactive step of setting up an advice line for all those patients possibly affected.

“The trust has worked hard with its insurers and legal advisors to ensure that these matters have been dealt with as quickly and reasonably as possible.”

An investigation was launched by the General Medical Council (GMC) after Miss Markandoo was suspended in 2006. That investigation found that she was deficient in 11 areas including basic and specialist surgery, arranging treatment, referring patients, relationships with colleagues and working within laws and regulations.

The GMC ruled that she was in future only permitted to practise in the NHS – not privately – and then only under a number of conditions, such as supervision and retraining, which are not available in the private sector.

Miss Markandoo’s case was never referred to a fitness to practice hearing, as these conditions were regarded as being sufficient.

Patient Anne Bassett from Jump, Barnsley, said she had been left “a physical mess” after being operated on numerous times by the surgeon.

The 47-year-old, whose compensation claim has now been settled, said: “I was put forward for a reconstruction after I had breast cancer in 2004.

“It was horrific. I ended up having eight or nine operations because they all went wrong. She left me a physical mess and I’m scarred for life.

“No amount of money will make up for what she did to me.”

Ms Bassett added that she frequently had to return to the hospital as, after the operations, her stitches burst open and began leaking.

She said: “On the last operation I had they removed the implant. I told them to take it out and leave me alone.

“I ended up looking worse than I did when I first had the mastectomy.”

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