A Bristol surgeon, Anthony Dixon, has been found to have harmed over 200 women between 2007-2017 performing unnecessary pelvic floor surgery when there were non-surgical options available to some of these women. Many have been left with significant pain and incontinence. Mr Dixon has been banned from practising in the UK since 2019.
This follows another rogue surgeon, Ian Paterson, who was similarly banned (and jailed in 2017) for performing, amongst other things, unnecessary breast surgery upon multiple women patients.
Aside from the appalling nature of the acts performed, these cases raise again the often overlooked issue of informed consent to surgical (or any) procedure. We, as patients, are in the hands and trust of medical professionals and it is of paramount importance that all patients are given all of the options for treatment, and time is taken to explain in detail what procedures are available to treat any given illness/condition and what the risks are for each option so patients have that informed choice.
The law on consent, following the widely publicised and landmark Montgomery case in 2015, has rightly significantly changed in recent years and provides much more obligations upon clinicians to obtain such informed consent.
The shocking case is reported on in more depth here.
We have decades of experience in the full remit of surgical cases involving substandard care in both the NHS and private practice, often involving issues of consent.
Please do get in touch if you have any concerns regarding care received where you believe that you may not have been fully informed as to what treatment options you had, and/or upon circumstances surrounding surgery you have undergone.
Claims can be brought up to 3 years after the alleged date of negligence, 3 years following a death, or 3 years after the 18th birthday of a child. In some cases there is in fact no time limit and we can advise you upon this.
Donnelly & Elliott is a part of the Metamorph Group which means we are able to offer a wider range of services to clients through our sister companies. If you would like to get in touch about a query relating to this, please contact us on 0345 124 5995 or 0161 837 6821.
