Families 'left in dark' over major Addenbrooke's Hospital review of suspended surgeon's patients

• Neil Barbour reports for ITV News Anglia on the concerns of patients treated by the suspended surgeon

Patients' families have told ITV News they feel they have been left in the dark by a leading hospital as it carries out a major review of the work of a now-suspended orthopaedic surgeon.

Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge last month revealed that nine children had experienced “lower than expected quality of care” while being treated by an unnamed surgeon, who was suspended last year having been put on reduced duties as a precaution.

This week the hospital said the treatment of a further 800 patients would be reviewed by a panel of experts.

ITV News has spoken to five families who called Addenbrooke's in the wake of February's announcement - and who describe worry, fear and sleepless nights over what they call a lack of answers.

Bosses at Addenbrooke's have apologised for delays in communicating with families and admitted they had "dropped the ball", while lawyers and politicians have made calls for transparency.

The hospital had previously said that in the nine cases first identified, the below-standard care had impacted on the quality of life of some of those children.

The family of 12-year-old Tammy Harrison - who was operated upon by the same surgeon - called the helpline set up by the hospital in February, but did not hear anything until nearly five weeks later.

Tammy, who has cerebral palsy, went in for surgery at Addenbrooke's in 2021 as her hips were coming out of their joints, an operation that carries significant risk outside of infancy.

After her operation, they began to worry as they saw her deal with a pain they described as "excruciating".

Her mother Lynn said: "Tammy wouldn’t leave her bed and she wouldn’t leave the sofa.

"I don’t think she left the house for eight or nine weeks."

Reflecting on the time after the operation, Tammy said: "It felt - how can I put it? - horrible. To go through that pain where you feel horrible in yourself and in your body."

Mrs Harrison, from Cambourne, said she expressed her concerns with both the surgeon and a doctor in a meeting, but did not make a formal complaint.

There is no evidence currently that anything went wrong in Tammy's case, and further surgery at Stanmore Hospital in Essex in 2024 eased her pain.

However, her family say since news of the Addenbrooke's surgeon's suspension emerged, they have questions.

The hospital has contacted the Harrison family since ITV News highlighted the case to apologise for the delay and has promised a rapid review.

Addenbrooke's has also been in touch with three other families whose stories have been highlighted by ITV News, apologising and pledging to take action.

Roland Sinker, chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals, the trust which runs Addenbrooke's, admitted mistakes in communicating with patients.

"We’re not doing well enough on this, and I’m very sorry," he told ITV News.

"It’s very upsetting to hear that not only have we let people down in terms of the care we’ve provided but that we’re not doing a good enough job in terms of listening to children and their families and we’re not responding quickly enough.

"We’re balancing speed and rigour here, but we’re going to have to get better at this if we’re going to give people the reassurance that they deserve that we’re doing the right thing."

Andrew Kennedy, the KC appointed to chair the panel of experts, has pledged to "work tirelessly" to review cases, identify shortcomings, inform families and ensure "further consultations and treatment can be offered as appropriate".

He added: "Patient safety will be our priority and patients and families will be at the centre of our approach, with a focus on honesty, openness and transparency.”

Though the investigation is understood to be at a very early stage, the hospital said it would publish the panel's findings from the clinical reviews as well as its initial external inquiry and would continue to provide updates.

However, politicians and medical negligence lawyers have called for more transparency, as they raised concerns about confidence in the trust.

South Cambridgeshire MP Pippa Heylings, whose constituency includes Addenbrooke's, said: “For all those who weren’t covered under that two-and-a-half years or don’t know whether it was that particular surgeon, as you can imagine this is hugely worrying.

"This has got to go much deeper and really bring back that reassurance about the quality of care that children can receive at Addenbrooke's.”

Catherine Slattery, a solicitor at the law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "I don’t think there’s enough information out there even for the families impacted so far.

"There needs to be further transparency."

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