- Independent review details failures in paediatric orthopaedic care
- Severe harm recorded in dozens of cases
- Hospital says systems have been overhauled
Nearly 100 child patients suffered harm while under the care of a former orthopaedic surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, according to an independent review released on Thursday.
The review examined the work of Yaser Jabbar, who specialised in lower limb reconstruction and treated hundreds of children at the hospital between 2017 and 2022.
Of the 94 patients found to have been harmed, 36 experienced severe harm, 39 moderate harm and 19 mild harm. The report also noted that 642 patients treated by Jabbar did not suffer harm directly linked to his care.
Many children were left in pain or required additional surgery after their initial treatment. The review described multiple clinical concerns, including poor surgical planning, premature removal of fixation devices, unclear or incomplete medical notes and implants being positioned incorrectly.
According to the report, there were also cases where bone cuts were made at the wrong level or using inappropriate techniques, along with decisions during surgery that did not match scan findings. It added that infections were sometimes handled without involving the wider clinical team, as quoted in a news report.
Independent experts reviewing individual cases reportedly found Jabbar’s clinical approach to be highly inconsistent, with repeated shortcomings in documentation, assessment and surgical decision-making.
No longer practising
Jabbar is understood to be living abroad and no longer holds a licence to practise medicine in the UK.
Responding to the findings, Matthew Shaw, chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital, said the organisation was “profoundly sorry” for the impact on affected patients and families, as quoted in a news report.
He said the hospital’s review set out what went wrong, what had been learned and what actions had followed. Shaw added that significant changes had been made to the orthopaedic service and across the hospital to reduce the risk of similar failures in the future, reportedly stressing that new systems are designed to spot problems earlier.
Hospital leaders acknowledged that these measures come too late for families already affected. However, the hospital said it remains committed to making Great Ormond Street Hospital safer for current and future patients.
The review is expected to prompt further scrutiny of clinical oversight and patient safety processes within specialist paediatric services.
