Great Ormond Street apologises for surgeon's harm

Families whose children were harmed by a surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have received a letter of apology ahead of a new report.

GOSH is due to release a report on 29 January into the actions of disgraced orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar who treated hundreds of children over a period of approximately five years.

It is already known that some children suffered severe harm under the care of the surgeon who worked on lower limb reconstruction.

Jabbar is understood to live abroad and no longer has a licence to practise medicine in the UK. The Metropolitan Police said it would study the upcoming report but had not so far received any criminal allegations.

GOSH wrote to affected families ahead of its publication and apologised for what they had been through and suggested that they could contact police if they wished to.

It follows a review of 789 children treated at GOSH as well as the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and three private hospitals: The Portland Hospital; Cromwell Hospital; and St John and St Elizabeth Hospital London.

GOSH chief executive Matthew Shaw said in the letter to families dated 21 January: "Firstly, and most importantly, I want to once again offer my personal, sincere apologies to you and your family.

"We have had many conversations with patients and families, and we know nothing we can do can make up for the experiences you have had and the impact it has had on you.

"I understand that the review process itself may have added further to your distress and I am also sorry for this.

"I hope that by sharing our findings with you in a comprehensive way, and by being clear about the actions we have taken, we can begin to rebuild the trust we know has been broken."

The letter said the report on 29 January would detail what happened under Jabbar's care and the improvements made by the hospital.

A previous Royal College of Surgeons report, commissioned by GOSH and leaked to The Sunday Times, said children had "incorrect" and "unsuitable" surgery.

Some of the children affected needed further surgery to correct mistakes that had left them living with chronic pain, deformities and nerve damage.

In a statement Shaw apologised to the affected families and added: "We are working closely with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for Camden - who in turn works with other organisations including the police - as is standard when allegations are made against adults who work with children."

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