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The Government is facing calls for a public inquiry after a report revealed how an NHS hospital missed multiple opportunities to protect patients from a surgeon accused of botching operations. One family called for an independent inquiry. Lynn Harrison’s daughter Tammy, 13, was operated on by consultant orthopaedic surgeon Kuldeep Stohr in April 2021. Tammy, who has cerebral palsy, has had problems with her hip joints throughout her life, causing her legs to face inwards towards her body. Ms Harrison has described how Tammy was left in “considerable pain” after a procedure to stabilise her hip joint and improve mobility. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) has said the cases of almost 800 patients of Ms Stohr are being reviewed. Tammy’s case was one of the first to be reviewed. Lawyers said the review noted there had been “technical problems” with her surgery. A separate investigation published on Wednesday did not focus on individual cases but examined whether any steps could have been taken to act earlier to protect patients. It identified 32 missed opportunities between 2012 and 2024. “I don’t know how to feel. This is all overwhelming for Tammy and I, we want the full truth to come out and we want everyone responsible for harming Tammy to be held to account,” Ms Harrison said. “I’m not interested in apologies. I want to know why this was allowed to happen to my daughter, and I want justice for her. This report does not give us any of that. “I want a meeting with Wes Streeting urgently and I want him to order a fully independent inquiry into this scandal and why my daughter and all the other victims were tortured this way.” Solicitor Elizabeth Maliakal, of Hudgell Solicitors, which represents a number of patients and families affected, including Ms Harrison, said: “The impact is so wide, and on such a large number of patients, we now need a Statutory Public Inquiry which can compel crucial witnesses to give evidence. “It is simply not enough for the Trust to announce an action plan and offer an apology. “People need to be placed under scrutiny and held accountable. A message needs to be sent out across the NHS that this will not be tolerated. “From the clients we’ve managed to speak to since receiving this report last night, there seems to be a clear feeling of anger and betrayal, and that is understandable.” Another family, represented by Osbornes Law, has called for a “complete culture shift” in the NHS. The family, who asked to remain anonymous, said the “anger is hard to process” in the wake of the report. Their son, who has since died, was operated on twice by Ms Stohr. Lawyers representing the family said that when his case was reviewed, evidence was found that “severe physical harm was caused”. His mother said: “All you want to do as a parent is to protect your children and you have to make difficult decisions sometimes, but I thought we were doing everything we could to make his life more comfortable. “That anger is hard to process. “He was the light of our lives – the most incredible, smiley, resilient, brave young boy – and we’ll never know what potential was lost. “Those ‘what if’ questions are horrible, they never leave you.” Jodi Newton, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Osbornes Law, said: “The findings of the report provide a damning verdict of the lack of visibility, broken systems, and absence of communication by those in leadership at the Trust in 2016. “It makes clear that this was not the fault of one person, but the result of systemic failings that allowed her to continue, unchecked, for several years while patients, mostly vulnerable children, suffered at the hands of a surgeon who repeatedly practised in a way which was substandard and, regrettably, caused them avoidable harm. “I hope that the report’s recommendations will be implemented in full and as a matter of urgency. “Those seeking justice for their loved ones will also want accountability from those responsible, and the unambiguous acknowledgement, without excuses, that the majority of the harm and trauma caused could have been avoided.” Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to patients and set out an action plan to “to build a safer and more effective organisation.”
