A report into disgraced former Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon Yaser Jabbar has found that 94 children were harmed during the care he provided.
The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) released a report on Thursday into the actions of the former orthopaedic surgeon who treated hundreds of children over a period of five years.
The review found “most children were not harmed by the care they received”, but 98 patients (12.4%) experienced some level of harm, and 94 of these cases were linked specifically to the care provided by Mr Jabbar.
Harm gradings ranged from mild, such as an unnecessary general anaesthetic, to severe gradings for situations like delayed diagnosis of complications or surgery that did not achieve the intended outcome, the report found.
Some 36 children suffered severe harm while under the care of Jabbar, who worked at the hospital between 2017 and 2022 and focused on lower limb reconstructions.
A further 39 patients suffered moderate harm and 19 patients came to mild harm, the report said.
In some cases, patient records were incomplete, meaning it was not possible to reach a clear conclusion.
A very small number of children came to harm for reasons not related to Mr Jabbar, such as administrative delays or issues involving other clinicians.
The hospital undertook a review of 789 of his cases after concerns were raised about his clinical practice.
The report found that 642 patients did not suffer harm that could be attributed to Jabbar.
GOSH chief executive Mat Shaw issued an apology to affected families on Thursday.
“What has happened to these children at this hospital is unacceptable and it is awful,” he said.
“Yasser Jabbar’s practice was completely unacceptable.
“When families come here, they are anxious, they’re worried, they put their trust in Great Ormond Street and in this case we have breached that trust in a way that’s entirely unacceptable.
“There are reasons. There are no excuses for what has happened. What I want families to know is we’ve taken this incredibly seriously.”
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January 2024.
He is believed to have since moved overseas.
Lawyers acting for the families have alleged Mr Jabbar carried out “inappropriate and unnecessary” surgeries that have required corrections, prolonged their treatment time and caused significant pain.
Though dozens of families have launched legal action, Sky News understands there is no active criminal investigation into Mr Jabbar at this time.
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