A Cambridge hospital has admitted that over 200 patients were harmed under the care of a suspended orthopaedic surgeon, leaving families devastated and demanding answers about how such failures occurred within the NHS.
Of the 209 patients who experienced harm while under the care of surgeon Kuldeep Stohr at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, 41 cases were classified as severe, and one patient tragically died, according to figures revealed in an internal trust report obtained by the BBC.
The scale of harm has left families questioning the safety of surgical procedures at one of the country’s leading NHS trusts, with many calling for a public inquiry into the treatment of vulnerable patients, including children.
Family Voices Rise in Outrage
Lynn, whose 13-year-old daughter Tammy was among the first to receive findings from an independent investigation last year, described the number of affected patients as “ridiculous”.
“One or two can be classed as a mistake, but this amount – no,” Lynn said. “It’s ridiculous, especially where parents like me have had to see their children go through additional surgery.”
Her family’s lawyers previously confirmed they had received a written admission of substandard surgery after screws on Tammy’s hip joints, intended to improve her mobility, were inserted incorrectly and failed to properly connect to the bone.
Another parent, Natasha, whose 19-year-old daughter Neave was also treated by Stohr, is now calling for a public inquiry into how children under the surgeon’s care came to be harmed.
Internal Review Raises More Questions
An ongoing review by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) has so far examined the care of more than 900 patients. Many of the cases involved children operated on by Stohr.
The figures were initially published in a report prepared for the trust’s board of directors and posted on its website ahead of a meeting last Wednesday. However, the trust later removed the report after being contacted by the BBC, stating that a “confidential interim update” had been “shared by mistake in our public board papers”.
Lynn questioned the authorship of the report, saying, “As us relatives don’t trust the hospital and what they say now, we want to know who wrote it.”
Elizabeth Maliakal from Hudgell Solicitors, representing several families, expects the final report to be “damning”.
“Some of our clients, who are children, endured major surgery they didn’t need, which had no positive impact on their lives and left them in pain for years afterwards,” she said. “I expect the final report from the trust, once all the findings of the independent review panel are known, to be highly critical, given we already know from those that we represent that fatal harm was caused in at least one case, and many, many more were harmed.”
Trust Apologises as Final Report Looms
Stohr was suspended by the hospital in March 2024 and has not returned to work since. The trust’s chief executive, Nicola Ayton, expressed deep regret over the situation.
“We are deeply sorry to the patients and families who came to harm or experienced care below the standards they should expect,” Ayton said. “This should never have happened and we are making changes so that something like this could not happen again.”
The trust’s final findings are expected to be shared with patients and their families in November before wider publication.
Why it Matters
This case strikes at the heart of patient safety within the NHS, raising urgent questions about oversight, accountability, and the protection of the most vulnerable – particularly children undergoing complex orthopaedic surgery. With over 200 patients harmed and at least one fatality linked to a single surgeon’s practice, the need for transparency, robust review mechanisms, and potentially a public inquiry has never been clearer. Families are not only seeking justice for their loved ones but also demanding systemic change to prevent future tragedies. As the healthcare system continues to grapple with resource pressures and staffing challenges, incidents like these underscore the critical importance of maintaining the highest standards of clinical care and ensuring that concerns are investigated thoroughly and independently.
