Reading surgeon suspended from duties after three deaths

A hospital consultant has been suspended from surgical duties after the deaths of three patients in three months.

Colorectal consultant Daniel McGrath ceased surgery shortly after operating on 52-year-old Lorraine Parker at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading in January 2024.

In a report on Mrs Parker’s death, Senior Berkshire Coroner Heidi Connor said she had raised concerns about the surgeon with the General Medical Council (GMC).

The hospital said Mr McGrath was still seeing outpatients under supervision, but had stopped surgical duties 10 months ago.

Mrs Parker, a childminder, died in March 2024 after a surgical join leaked and was not quickly diagnosed and managed, the inquest heard.

Independent medical experts were critical of her aftercare rather than the surgery itself, the coroner said.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, Ms Connor said: “Lorraine Parker’s death was the third in three months following surgery by the same consultant colorectal surgeon.”

She said one of Mr McGrath’s previous patients, Michael Edwards, died in December 2023 following a “significant surgical error” when a healthy part of his bowel was removed instead of a cancerous area.

However, an internal hospital review rated his care as either “good” or “excellent”, the coroner said.

In Mrs Parker’s case, the hospital found “no learning points”, she added.

A third patient died in March 2024, Ms Connor said.

The coroner told Ms Parker’s inquest: “Having conducted all three of these inquests and another earlier case back in 2018 [at a private hospital]… I am struck by the lack of reflection on the part of this surgeon.

“There has been throughout little acceptance of any of the issues and criticisms raised by different independent experts.

“I am concerned about the risk of future deaths should Mr McGrath continue to operate here or elsewhere.”

Ms Connor said the surgeon’s case was her first ever referral to the GMC.

She added: “It appears that the option to return to operating remains open for Mr McGrath, even after a GMC notification by the trust with certain caveats and requirements in place before he may do so.”

A spokesperson for the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The trust extends our sincerest condolences to Ms Parker’s family.

“The consultant ceased surgical duties 10 months ago and we have worked closely with the Coroner and the GMC to provide them with assurance about measures put in place to oversee his work which has been restricted to outpatient work.

“We continue to monitor this arrangement and will implement any further recommendations made following this inquest.

“The provision of safe and high quality patient care is an absolute priority for the trust and all our clinicians work to rigorous protocols to ensure patient safety. “

In 2024, Mr McGrath was ordered to pay £1.2m towards damages and costs following the death of his patient Simon Healey at Berkshire Independent Hospital in Reading.