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Monday, 12 June, 2000, 16:48 GMT 17:48 UK
Richard Neale: The charges
Richard Neale
Richard Neale faces malpractice charges
The General Medical Council (GMC) considered 35 charges against gynaecologist Richard Neale, and found "facts proven" in all but one. These are listed below:


Mrs A: 1986: Mr Neale admitted failing to perform a pre-operative X-ray or post-operative mammogram after performing a biopsy.

Mrs B: 1989-1995: He failed to adequately monitor or treat her condition of endometriosis over a six-year period and behaved in an unprofessional manner in his surgery after she complained.

Mrs C: 1992: He failed to ensure that her family doctor was informed of details concerning her operation and her post-operative care. She suffered massive blood loss and haemorrhaged after surgery to cure her incontinence.

Mrs D: 1991: He failed to stop her bleeding following a hysterectomy he performed on her and discharged her without giving her any counselling about what pain and side effects to expect.

Mr Neale also admitted failing to provide her GP with a follow-up letter outlining events after her operation, when she twice suffered huge blood loss.

Mrs E: 1991: He damaged her left ureter while performing surgery to remove a cyst, then failed to take any or adequate steps to discover the reason for the problem and delayed contacting a urologist for expert guidance for an unacceptably long period after complications set in.

Mrs F: 1991: He performed a different operation from the one to which the patient had consented, told her GP he had carried out a different operation from the one actually performed, and failed to give her any counselling before the operation.

Mrs G: 1992: He made false statements about the length of the NHS waiting list for a hysterectomy in a bid to persuade her to pay for private treatment, and performed an operation without consent, after carrying out a vaginal hysterectomy when she had signed a consent form for an abdominal hysterectomy.

Mrs I: 1992-1996: During an operation to relieve her incontinence, Mr Neale failed to swap to open surgery after a keyhole camera procedure failed, leaving her with damage to the bladder.

He also left part of a suture needle left inside her, and then failed to tell her GP about the complications.

Mrs J: 1993: He bungled her operation and damaged her bladder, failing to switch to open surgery when keyhole techniques went wrong.

Mrs K: 1994: He carried out unnecessary surgery and failed to refer her for a second opinion.

MRS M: 1996: During an abortion and sterilisation using keyhole surgery, Mr Neale failed to act about a defective camera used in the procedure, and bungled the sterilisation which meant the patient became pregnant again and was forced to have another abortion.

MRS N: 1996: He carried out a procedure without the patient's consent, failed to deal with damage to the bladder when he bungled the surgery, did not give the patient any counselling and did not tell her GP about the complications.

Mr Neale also lied on his CV in an application to become a GMC assessor of other doctors, claiming to have won awards that never existed and held posts he had not.

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See also:

12 Jun 00 | Health
Surgeon 'mistreated women'
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