Investigation into deaths of patients treated by breast surgeon Ian Paterson

When Stuart Coyne received a letter informing him that his wife’s death, now sixteen years ago, was under investigation to see whether she had died unnecessarily following an operation by disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson, he was stunned.

“It was a shock; it came out of the blue. When Catherine died we all thought she had had the best treatment for the breast cancer she had,” says Coyne, 70, who lives in Solihull. “Of course it begs the question: Would she still be here today?”

An inquest into the deaths of 62 former Paterson patients will begin at Birmingham and Solihull coroners’ courts on Monday, believed to be one of the largest ever in Britain.

A team of doctors reviewed hundreds of cases to identify patients they believed had “died an unnatural death as a result of Ian Paterson’s actions”.

Paterson, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of 17 charges of malicious wounding, is due to testify. On the first day of the hearing, his request for legal aid will be heard, which is opposed by lawyers representing the victims.

It was revealed by the Sunday Times that the Health Secretary would strip Paterson of his taxpayer-funded NHS pension, an intervention only used in cases where a staff member has been convicted of a crime.

A report published in 2020 found that Paterson had subjected more than 1,000 NHS and private healthcare patients in the West Midlands to unnecessary and harmful operations over 14 years before he was stopped.

This included convincing patients to undergo surgery by exaggerating the risk of breast cancer, and performing unrecognized cleavage-sparing surgeries that put patients at risk of their cancer returning.

Debbie Douglas, who suffered an unnecessary mastectomy at Paterson, said: “What we hope from this is that those who have died will have their voices heard, and that the families and victims that Paterson has harmed get answers.”

Douglas has been a long-time campaigner for Paterson victims and patient safety, most recently launched a campaign against the decision to move Paterson to an open prison, where he could be released in 2027.

“It’s just an absolute shame,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we just don’t want this to happen to anyone else, and we want patient safety to come first.”

Through her work with the Breast Friends support group, she knew Catherine Coyne, who died in 2008 aged 51 from secondary liver cancer. Paterson had performed a double mastectomy on her six years earlier when she was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.

Medical records now reveal that there were concerns that Paterson was leaving too much breast tissue behind and that he was going against standard practice at the time, which was to operate only after chemotherapy treatment.

This information has only been revealed to Catherine’s family since 2022, when her death was listed for inquest and medical experts and lawyers began poring over hospital notes.

The family already began to suspect when the investigation into Paterson and his subsequent conviction in 2017 for performing unnecessary and harmful surgeries was widely reported in the media.

“We didn’t initially realize that leaving breast tissue behind could have led to a recurrence (of cancer), or even a secondary cancer situation,” says Stuart Coyne. “It wasn’t until that was explained in the press and on TV that it started to cross our minds: ‘Well, could it be that because she didn’t have all her breast tissue removed, that led to the secondary cancer?’

Catherine, a data protection officer for Birmingham City Council, was described by her husband as a “very likeable, bubbly character”.

“She was the kind of person who, if you sat next to her on the bus, five minutes later she would be talking to you and exchanging information,” he said. “She was a very open, lively person, but she was also very determined and determined, and that obviously helped her to get through all the treatment she received.”

He fondly recalls a time when, while working as a classroom assistant at her son’s school, she “got a bee in the bonnet” about the lack of equipment for left-handed children and successfully pushed for more.

Her death came suddenly after a diagnosis of liver cancer and was a shock to the family, including her two children, who were 13 and 17 at the time.

“It was a difficult time for all of us,” Coyne said. “And over the years, our concerns about what happened to her have only grown. I’m sure the research will provide a lot of information that people will be very concerned about.

“As families and loved ones, we are looking for answers.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “These were abhorrent crimes and we are assisting His Majesty’s coroner with the investigation into the tragic deaths of patients previously treated by Ian Paterson.

“We understand the frustration of families and recognize that significant improvements in patient safety are needed. This government is working urgently to ensure that all lessons are learned from this terrible case.”