NHS hospital claims it was kept in the dark over private hospital concerns

An NHS hospital has said it was kept in the dark about concerns one of its doctors was involved in allegedly dangerous surgical practices that saw patients left at risk of brain damage from being so heavily sedated during surgery.

University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust said it had yet to see an expert report, leaked to The Independent last week, that criticised one of its anaesthetists Dr Gauhar Sharih for sedating patients to such a level that their blood pressure dropped so low they could have suffered organ damage and brain injuries.

Dr Sharih worked with surgeon Derek McMinn, who is now facing a police investigation over alleged breaches of the Human Tissue Act, after an investigation found he had collected more than 5,200 bones and tissue samples from patients over a 25 year period without proper consent.

BMI Healthcare, which runs the Edgbaston Hospital in Birmingham, where McMinn carried out his surgeries, said it did inform local NHS bodies about concerns last year.

Dr Sharih and a second anaesthetist, Dr Imran Ahmed, who works for the Dudley Group Foundation Trust have been referred to the General Medical Council after the expert report by Dr Dhushyanthan Kumar from Coventry’s University Hospital.

His report claimed McMinn and the anaesthetists subjected patients to prolonged anaesthesia. In one case a patient was said to have been sedated an hour and 40 minutes before surgery while in another case patient was allegedly "abandoned" for an hour and 26 minutes after their surgery was only partially completed so McMinn could start surgery on a second patient in a nearby operating theatre.

Dr Kumar’s report, dated in November 2019, said some patients blood pressure was dropped extremely low adding: “The technique of Drs Ahmed and Sharih were outside even the most extreme examples used as evidence in the literature with significant periods in a number of patients below a systolic blood pressure of 55mmHg. I view this as a high risk of harm to those patients.”

UHB told The Independent that Dr Sharih informed the hospital in September 2019 that he was under investigation by the Edgbaston Hospital in relation to the practice of running two operating theatres simultaneously.

It is not known if Dr Sharih declared concerns around the low blood pressure risk.

As running dual theatres was not part of his practice in the NHS the trust decided “there were no immediate patient safety concerns and the trust would await receipt of the report.”

It added: “The trust has not received any direct correspondence from the Edgbaston Hospital and is awaiting receipt of Dr Kumar’s report. We are currently in liaison with the GMC and will be considering what, if any, actions should be taken by the trust.”

Circle Health, which took over BMI Healthcare earlier this year said concerns were raised about Derek McMinn during a meeting in September last year but UHB said there was no mention of Dr Sharih at this meeting.

Circle also said concerns about the anaesthetist were raised with the trust in an email last October but UHB said the email only raised the issue of dual theatres and not about unsafe surgery with low blood pressure sedation.

A spokesperson for Circle Health Group said: “In Birmingham, independent hospitals and University Hospitals Birmingham met regularly to discuss any concerns over clinical practice. Issues relating to Derek McMinn were discussed in a minuted meeting on 25 September 2019.

“On 11 October 2019, an email was sent to University Hospital Birmingham informing them of the suspension of the anaesthetist based at that trust who had been working with Mr McMinn. The email was sent to the head of patient review and recall for the immediate attention of the University Hospital Birmingham deputy medical director.”

Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group Foundation Trust said Dr Imran Ahmed had worked for the trust since October 2019.

She said: “Dr Ahmed made the trust aware of concerns about his practice at another organisation in October 2019. We do not perform this procedure at our hospital and we have kept this situation under regular review since we were made aware of it.  

“The trust adheres to the highest standards of clinical safety and keeping our patients safe and well cared for is our upmost priority. We cannot comment further at this stage.”