The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jackie Doyle-Price)
On 7 December 2017 the hon. Member for Ludlow (Philip Dunne), then the Minister of State for Health, announced an independent, non-statutory Inquiry, under the Chairmanship of the Right Reverend Graham James, Lord Bishop of Norwich into the circumstances and practices surrounding the former breast surgeon Ian Paterson, who was convicted in April 2017 of wounding with intent and unlawful wounding.
Since then the Bishop has worked with affected families to ensure their views are taken into account in shaping the terms of reference.
Today, I can announce the terms of reference for the inquiry, which will report in summer 2019.
The remit of the independent, non-statutory Paterson Inquiry will be to:
Examine and seek to learn from what happened to former patients of Ian Paterson, both in the independent sector and in the NHS informed by their experiences and concerns; and
Review the circumstances and practices surrounding Ian Paterson as a case study, and consider other past and current practices, so as to draw conclusions in relation to the safety and quality of care provided nationally to all patients.
The inquiry will consider issues raised in previous relevant reports about Ian Paterson, but does not intend to revisit the evidence that led to his conviction.
A central objective of the inquiry is to afford former patients of Ian Paterson and their families an opportunity to tell of their experiences and to be heard.
The inquiry will aim to report its conclusions and recommendations by summer 2019. It will publish its report and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will make arrangements for its presentation to Parliament.
This announcement marks the beginning of the important work of the inquiry in listening to the experiences of former patients and gathering other evidence to ensure that the independent healthcare sector and the NHS are able to learn the lessons from Ian Paterson’s appalling malpractice that has taken or damaged the lives of so many people who invested their trust in him.
It can also be viewed with the Terms of Reference at: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements.
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