A DOCTOR was allowed to continue treating patients for four years after hospital bosses said he was a risk to patient safety.

Kavinder Madhra began working for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) in 2001.

In 2002 he was issued with a warning from the General Medical Council (GMC) because of clinical errors but was allowed to continue working as a doctor.

He continued to be paid while he spent seven years retraining and returned to Furness General Hospital in 2008.

But concerns about Mr Madhra continued to emerge with one of the most serious almost resulting in a patient having the wrong kidney removed.

In May 2014, as consultant urologist Peter Duffy prepared to consent the patient prior to removing a cancerous kidney, which Mr Madhra had stated was the left kidney, Mr Duffy decided to take a second look at the x-rays.

Recalling the incident, Mr Duffy told The Mail: “I was immediately struck by how normal the left kidney looked. The patient’s right kidney was the one that looked decidedly dodgy.

“With a sickening feeling I turned to the radiology consultant’s report which clearly stated it was the right kidney which was cancerous.

“I double checked with a consultant radiologist, ran up the stairs and arrived sweating profusely in the operating theatre just as the patient was going to sleep, took some deep breaths and removed the right-sided kidney, immediately post-operatively declaring this as a major clinical incident.

“Had I gone ahead with the surgery as specified by Mr Madhra the patient would have had his healthy kidney removed and would have been left with the cancerous one which would then have had to be removed, leaving the patient dependent on dialysis; an utter catastrophe.”

Two months later on July 12 2014 five complaints were made about Mr Madhra by two patients and three doctors.

One related to his failure to act during a potential case of cord compression which could have left the patient paralysed.

In an exclusive interview with The Mail UHMBT director Dr David Walker confirmed Mr Madhra was instantly suspended “in the interests of patient safety” and to “prevent further risk to patients”.

Mr Walker added: “The Royal College of Surgeons conducted an initial investigation.

“That took a long time and at the end they said there were very significant concerns in a number of areas of Mr Madhra’s practice.

“We then set up a capability panel. That panel concluded Mr Madhra should be demoted to a junior doctor grade and all of his work should be supervised.”

After the investigations were concluded the trust referred Mr Madhra to the GMC.

Mr Madhra, 63, had continued to treat patients for four years during this period until September 2018 when the GMC imposed a raft of conditions on his practice after deciding his performance was unacceptable.

Nine days later Mr Madhra chose to end his employment with UHMBT. 

However, Dr Walker has confirmed to The Mail that the trust has paid out compensation or settlements to patients who brought claims against UHMBT as a result of Mr Madhra’s errors.

He also admitted trust bosses and an independent specialist have reviewed the notes of other patients treated by Mr Madhra.

“The result was there weren’t any issues identified although in one case there had been delays,” he added.

Dr Walker added that none of the patients whose notes were reviewed have been informed.