A RENOWNED surgeon whose whistleblowing led to a major investigation has welcomed the publication of the report which validated his concerns.

Yesterday The Mail published extracts from a Royal College of Surgeons review which highlighted significant worries about certain doctors within the urology department at Furness General Hospital.

Consultant urologist Peter Duffy, a former Doctor of the Year, worked in the department at the time and had flagged up concerns about his colleagues whose mistakes led to a patient almost having the wrong kidney removed and one who developed kidney failure.

Mr Duffy reported his concerns to his bosses, and the General Medical Council, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust invited the RCS to carry out a review of the department.

The 2016 report, which has just been made public after The Mail obtained a copy through a Freedom of Information request, described "certain consultants' bad behaviour and clinical errors" as well as their false allegations of racism and making malicious complaints about colleagues.

Mr Duffy, who won an employment tribunal against the trust last year and now works on the Isle of Man, criticised the trust's failure to deal with the specific doctors in the department who the RCS said were "consistently late to clinics" and who altered treatment decisions numerous times "because consultants did not agree with one another".

"The mistake the trust made was that they labelled it as a dysfunctional department when it was just three individuals who were not working to national minimum standards," he said.

Following the review the trust implemented a number of changes in response to its recommendations.

Director David Walker said: “We developed an action plan in response to the RCS invited review.

“Implementation of the action plan was overseen by the Deputy Medical Director and discussed monthly with the CQC to ensure progress.”