In case reminiscent of the suspension of Manu Nair, the consultant whose surgical techniques for treating men with prostate cancer were found to be inappropriate in some cases and harmful in others, Mr Hussein El-Maghraby, a consultant neurosurgeon at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW) has been stopped from performing two surgical techniques following the death of two patients.
Royal College of Surgeons' inspection
The BBC has reported this story after it came to light that Mr El-Maghraby has been prevented from carrying out specific spinal and brain operations, following an inspection of four of his cases by the Royal College of Surgeons last September. One of the surgeons who reviewed a video of an operation which left the patient in a vegetative state (and who subsequently died) described it as 'rough surgery'. According to the report, Mr El-Maghraby had also been named by a colleague four years ago for making 'a colossal error' during brain surgery where he removed healthy brain tissue rather than a benign tumour. That patient also died a few days later.
Mr El-Maghraby stopped from performing some operations
Mr El-Maghraby has, as one would expect, refuted the allegations, saying that the GMC has already examined five of his operations and decreed that no further action is required. He has also accused a colleague who raised concerns about his spinal surgery of bullying behaviour. Nonetheless, the UHCW Trust told the BBC that he would not be able to continue with some complex spinal operations, and brain surgery where the patient remains conscious, until he had undergone additional training and mentoring.
Competence called into question
Understandably, the families of the patients who died after undergoing surgery performed by Mr El-Maghraby are very concerned and upset that he is continuing to practise. Nonetheless, the Trust has to follow certain procedures when investigating complaints about a surgeon's competence. The Trust will have to show that it did investigate the past concerns raised by a fellow surgeon properly and demonstrate that any remedial action was taken to prevent Mr El-Maghraby from making a similar mistake in future. There is no doubt that neurosurgery requires great skill; a neurosurgeon who is not performing at the top of his game has the potential to cause irreversible damage, and even death, to his patients.
Is patient safety hollow rhetoric?
Patient safety is at the top of the NHS agenda and there is no excuse for any hospital not to deploy proper procedures to ensure surgeons follow best practice. It is imperative that UHCW Trust demonstrates that it takes patient safety seriously by being open and transparent about the steps it intends to take to ensure that Mr El-Maghraby is closely monitored from now on. Surgeons with a questionable track record can crop up in even the most exemplary organisations – the test is how they deal with the situation when it arises, avoiding the temptation to brush any allegations under the table. We will monitor the case of Mr El-Maghraby closely – this gives UHCW the perfect opportunity to prove that its commitment to patient safety is more than just hollow rhetoric.
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