A surgeon at a hospital in England has been found responsible for a series of botched operations that left dozens of patients in chronic pain after he reportedly removed the wrong bones and fused joints incorrectly.
Mian Munawar Shah, a surgeon at the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, was suspended in 2021 after multiple complaints and reports of surgical errors dating back to 2010, ITV News reported. Despite early warnings and red flags raised by colleagues and audits, the hospital failed to act swiftly to address the issue, leading to years of patient suffering.
A report released on Tuesday detailed the extent of Shah's errors, which caused suffering for 91 patients. Of Shah's 392 patients, the report found that 24% of them endured moderate to severe harm.
Among the mistakes were incorrect bone excisions in wrist surgeries and improperly fused joints in shoulder surgeries. In some cases, patients were misdiagnosed with psychological pain conditions instead of having their complaints attributed to surgical errors.
Shah was allowed to continue practicing without the proper oversight, according to the report. The surgeon reportedly did not have evidence of proper training for new procedures, and was moved to more intricate upper limb procedures with sufficient understanding.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has issued a formal apology to the affected patients and promised to introduce stronger governance measures to prevent future incidents. The Trust has reported the incidents to the police, but further action depends on the General Medical Council's involvement.
