The High Court has agreed a £37 million compensation package for the victims of shamed surgeon Ian Paterson.
Mr Paterson was a breast surgeon who worked at BUPA Hospitals (now Spire Healthcare) in Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. He was convicted in April 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and three counts of unlawful wounding in respect of ten patients. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 in prison. 350 patients who had been treated privately at Spire Healthcare clinics are pursuing civil action against him and against the firm.
The trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard that Mr Paterson had fabricated and exaggerated cancer risks, resulting in him carrying out hundreds of needless operations, and charging payments for far more costly procedures.
Spire Healthcare, where Mr Paterson carried out his operations on private patients, will be contributing £27.2 million to the fund for the victims, along with the insurers of Mr Paterson and his former employers, the Heater of England NHS Trust who will provide £10 million towards the fund.
Mr Paterson’s NHS victims received their compensation earlier this year and £62,815 was awarded to each claimant. It was reported that there were around 270 patients who had been affected by operations that had been carried out by the surgeon.
