NHS boss Sir Jim Mackey backed heart surgeon whose failures contributed to deaths

The head of the NHS in England supported a doctor whose failures contributed to several dead to resume his career as a heart surgeon.

Sir Jim Mackey told the family of a died patient following an operation by Karen Booth that the consulting surgeon should be “supported” to continue working at Freeman hospital in Newcastle, once she had been recycling.

The BBC obtained a recording of a meeting last year with the family of the deceased man. In this document, he tells them that Ms. Booth will continue her surgical career.

An NHS survey revealed that the problems in MS Booth cases included clinical errors, carrying out operations, it was neither qualified nor experienced to perform and not call for help when she should have.

Sir Jim became NHS chief in England in April. Before that, he was director general of the Newcastle on Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who runs the Freeman, for 14 months.

Sir Jim refused to answer most of the BBC questions, but said: “We took the concerns of all the parties very seriously and this was a really complex case in what is a very specialized clinical field, and this was in progress for several years.”

In a statement to the BBC, Karen Booth said she continued to “express my condolences to families who have lost dear beings and were affected by the issues raised”. She said that she “cooperated fully” with an examination of the doctors’ regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC).

Seven people died following multiple failures by MS Booth, an internal discovery investigation, a surviving patient who underwent preventable damage.

The BBC has revealed that the hospital now plans to allow Ms. Booth to resume her surgical career in the heart unit after recycling. It is despite strong opposition from several of his surgical colleagues, sent by e-mail.

Mrs. Booth, A surgeon of heart and transplantation,, Currently works as a mentor of other hospital surgeons.

In January 2024, shortly after being appointed director general of the Trust, Sir Jim met the family of Ian Philip, a Northumberland building worker, who died in 2021 at the age of 54, after being operated by Ms. Booth.

The hospital later declared to his family that the surgeons who operated on him had not carried out a “bread and butter” procedure known as the transplant bridge when they underwent complications, something that told them that the hospital would have made its survival “much more likely”.

The BBC obtained a recording of a meeting attended by the partner of Mr. Philip, Melissa Cockburn, and her son Liam.

Sir Jim told them that Ms. Booth could continue her surgical career because she had not been sanctioned by the GMC or by an internal HR survey.

“She must go through a support process, recycled, her practice has managed, etc. over a period of time before she was authorized to practice again completely independently,” said Sir Jim.

“We, as an employer, must decide if it is here or elsewhere.”

The BBC understands that the Freeman hospital has approached at least another confidence to wonder if they would be ready to use Ms. Booth.

The family of Mr. Philip told the BBC that it had been surprised by the remarks of Sir Jim. “It is weird for me that Freeman thinks it’s appropriate [to bring her back]”Said Ian’s son Liam Philip.” The least they can do, that is to say that she does not come back. “

Sir Jim became Director General of the Trust Trust Tyne on January 1, 2024. The family said they had hoped that his trust appointment would help their case.

“”[We] I went to Christmas with great hope, thinking that it is a new man who arrives to settle everything, “said Melissa, the partner of Mr. Philip.

But she said that she had finally found Sir Jim “quite arrogant and more favorable to Mrs. Booth than our difficult situation”.

Many surgical colleagues from MS Booth had repeatedly indicated in the senior trust in the trust, which they did not want her to return to the heart unit, believing it as a risk for patients.

It was a problem that Sir Jim also seemed to recognize. At a time in the meeting, he said that if colleagues were not willing to support a surgeon, “the risk of security is much higher”.

In her declaration, Ms. Booth said that she was “grateful to these wider surgical ministerial colleagues who continue to support my reintegration into complete clinical practice”.

The family said their misfortune with Sir Jim had been exacerbated by the fact that the GMC had raised restrictions on the practice of MS Booth after an initial investigation.

Invited to explain why a doctor whose failures had contributed to the death of several patients were authorized to continue to practice surgery in the NHS and what that says about the importance it attaches to public security, the GMC refused to comment.

He told the BBC: “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do, and we will always take measures where there is a risk to the public.” When he was asked to give examples, he refused.

Patient groups have been complaining for a long time that GMC has taken too long to take measures against doctors. He can investigate the doctors who are referred to it and decide whether a case is transmitted to a medical court, which has the power to sanction the staff.

The figures show that since 2020, out of the 1,120 cases, the GMC has passed to a medical court, 13 were linked to the performance of a doctor. Asked to explain why the figures are so low, the GMC refused to comment.

In a statement to the BBC, Sir Jim said that after joining the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Trust, he had met families affected by Ms. Booth’s failures “to discuss and listen to their concerns and reiterate how sorry we are for their loss and the unimaginable injury caused”.

Mr. MacKey continued: “After the official reference to the General Medical Council in 2022, the investigation into the practice of this surgeon is still underway – I recognize that it is frustrating for everyone, and I asked them what they could do to accelerate this to achieve a conclusion as soon as possible.”

Ms. Booth said that due to the GMC exam, “it would not be appropriate for me to publicly comment specific questions at the moment”.

An investigation by the Freeman hospital revealed that a number of failures of Ms. Booth had contributed to her bad results. In addition to surgical errors, she was found to have a bad idea of ​​her own levels of competence, in part by being inexperienced, and that she had not asked for help from more senior colleagues.

At the time of complaints, the Cardiac unit of Freeman was in disarray. A report by the Royal College of Surgeons in 2021 found a problematic work culture, while internal hospital reports have criticized mediocre governance procedures, a reluctance on the part of senior executives to assume responsibilities and an inadequate multidisciplinary team (TMD) – in which clinicians should meet before surgery to discuss the best options for patients.

Responding to the BBC, the hospital recognized the problems of culture of the unit, saying that it had tried to protect patients at any time.

He said he “currently considered” the next step in the gradually return of MS Booth “, in accordance with appropriate standards, revision recommendations and external advice”. He did not answer the BBC questions as to whether he was sure for patients that Ms Booth returns to the heart unit, given the strong opposition of some of his colleagues.

In a press release, the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust said that it acts “in the best interest of patients” and seeks “to maintain and protect patient safety at any time, taking into account concerns shared by clinical colleagues”.