Rogue breast surgeon who was jailed for 20 years after conducting unnecessary operations on more than 1,000 patients ‘will be stripped of his £1million pension’

A disgraced breast surgeon is set to be stripped of his £1 million pension pot after he conducted unnecessary operations on more than 1,000 patients.

Ian Paterson, 64, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found to have carried out the procedures on more than 1,000 breast cancer patients over a period of some 14 years.

Inquests into the deaths of 62 patients who were treated by Paterson are to open this month, with another 20 due to open at a later date. 

However, if Judge Richard Foster, who has been appointed to lead the inquests, concludes any of the 82 patients died as a result of Paterson’s actions, this could result in further prosecutions.

According to The Sunday Times, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has decided to remove Paterson’s taxpayer-funded pension under rules that allow NHS benefits to be forfeited in the case of criminal, negligent or fraudulent acts.

The newspaper reported that the Secretary of State must authorise the decision and, to qualify, the offences must be considered so serious as to lead to a ‘serious loss of confidence in the public service’ or to have been ‘gravely injurious to the state’.

Ian Paterson (pictured) is currently serving 20 years in prison after being found to have carried out unnecessary procedures on more than 1,000 patients over a period of some 14 years

Paterson was employed by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and practised in the independent sector at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston in Birmingham

Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) has decided to remove Paterson’s taxpayer-funded pension under rules that allow NHS benefits to be forfeited in the case of criminal, negligent or fraudulent acts

Paterson was employed by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and practised in the independent sector at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston in Birmingham.

He was jailed in 2017 after being convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding relating to unnecessary operations performed on 10 patients between 1997 and 2011.

An independent inquiry, chaired by former Bishop of Norwich, the Right Rev Graham James, ruled in February 2020 that Paterson had carried out hundreds of unnecessary operations on scores of patients, exaggerating or inventing cancer risks.

In at least 100 cases of the 300 discovered since 2021, patients were having treatment for conditions other than breast surgery, such as the removal of their gallbladder or appendix.

In 2023, it was revealed that the private medical group that Paterson had worked for had set aside nearly £50million to cover the costs of the cases.

He told hundreds of women, and some men, that they had cancer when they did not, putting them through tests and surgeries that would be paid for by insurance firms.

Paterson would have been part of the NHS final salary scheme and, assuming he had accrued 30 years of service, he would have built up a pension pot of just over £1million. This does not include private earnings or other pensionable income from the NHS.

Paterson (pictured in February 2017) was jailed in 2017 after being convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding relating to unnecessary operations performed on 10 patients between 1997 and 2011

In at least 100 cases of the 300 discovered since 2021, patients were having treatment for conditions other than breast surgery, such as the removal of their gallbladder or appendix (Spire Parkway in Solihull, pictured) 

Debbie Douglas, 65, who was subjected to numerous unnecessary operations by Paterson, told The Sunday Times: ‘I’m delighted he has had his pension taken away because all those years he worked for the NHS harming people, he was committing criminal acts… I totally agree with the decision.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘These were appalling crimes and we are assisting His Majesty’s Coroner with the inquests concerning the tragic deaths of patients previously treated by Ian Paterson. We offer our sincere condolences to the families.

‘Cases like this are fortunately rare, but this Government will prioritise patient safety to ensure everyone receives the high-quality, safe treatment they deserve.

‘We understand families’ frustration and recognise that significant improvements to patient safety are required.

‘This Government is working urgently to ensure all lessons from this terrible case are being learned.’