Ian Paterson: Inquests into 'unnatural deaths' of surgery patients

Inquests will be held after a review found patients of a rogue breast surgeon may have died unnaturally.

Consultant Ian Paterson, 62, was convicted in 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.

He was initially jailed for 15 years, before the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to a 20-year term.

The inquests into the deaths of four patients will open on Monday, the coroner for Birmingham said.

In January, West Midlands Police asked Birmingham and Solihull coroner Louise Hunt to look at a "random selection" of cases involving Paterson, to decide whether any patients died of unnatural causes due to "potentially substandard treatment".

In a statement, Ms Hunt and area coroner, Emma Brown, said they now "believe there is evidence to have reason to suspect that some of those deaths may be unnatural".

Paterson, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, treated hundreds of patients in the private sector at Little Aston and Parkway Hospitals in the West Midlands, run by Spire Healthcare.

In 2017, Prof Gordon Wishart, a consultant breast surgeon, called Paterson "a rogue or medical conman".

An independent inquiry published in February said Paterson performed unnecessary operations for years amid a "dysfunctional" healthcare system that failed patients.

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