An urgent review is currently underway into former consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Yaser Jabbar after concerns were raised about his practice whilst working at leading NHS Hospital, Great Ormond Street. It is thought that this review will look into 721 cases of children seen by Mr Jabbar.
Mr Jabbar specialises in Limb Reconstruction and Paediatric Orthopaedics. It has been said that following surgeries carried out by Jabbar, some children were left with one leg up to 20cm shorter than the other, and other children are still in chronic pain years after their treatment. One child even had their limb amputated, which experts now say could have been avoided. Great Ormond Street Hospital has offered its “sincere apologies” to what has been reported in some cases as lifelong damage.
Reportedly the concerns regarding Jabbar’s behaviour arose following an external review carried out by Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in 2022. The review focused on the performance of its paediatric surgery department and patient outcomes after staff and families voiced concerns about the quality of care it provided. The review looked into 39 cases and has found that at least 13 children have suffered “severe harm”, one of whom was just four months old, 9 have suffered “low to moderate harm”, and 15 children suffered no harm. The RCS was highly critical of the orthopaedic department at Great Ormond Street Hospital and said that it was “dysfunctional”, and the trust was run like a “political organisation”. It was said within the report that the consultant’s behaviour was “outdated”, “unacceptable”, and “hierarchical”. It has also been said that parents were “terrified” of Mr Jabbar and requested that other surgeons treat their children instead.
Many parents complained about Mr Jabbar’s practices at the time but claim that “everything was being brushed under the carpet” and complained that the hospital was slow to act and was unresponsive. Great Ormond Street has rejected such claims and say that they arranged the review by RCS within 18 days of complaints being raised by staff and families. The Trust have said that “there are a number of clear routes for staff to raise concerns”, and have said that “despite thorough investigations, we can find no records of concerns being raised by any of those routes prior to June 2022”.
Great Ormond Street Hospital have contacted all patients of the surgeon, and this thorough review will be carried out by a group of independent experts from other paediatric hospitals. It is said that this review will be conducted “at pace” and they will reflect on any wider learnings around their culture.
Legal action is currently underway against Great Ormond Street Hospital due to the serious failings in care over a number of years. It is thought that this more thorough review will uncover many more victims of negligent care and the hospital will likely face multiple claims for compensation.
Whilst Mr Jabbar has not had a licence to practice medicine in the UK since January 8th, 2024, he is now believed to be working in Dubai as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon.
Elizabeth Wickson, Senior Associate says: “It is extremely concerning to hear that Mr Jabbar’s practices have been found to be unacceptable by the Royal College of Surgeons and to have caused harm in many cases. As a parent facing the difficult reality that your child requires surgery, you need to be able to put your absolute trust in both the surgeon and the hospital caring for your child. It is important that the review conducted by independent experts captures all those affected by Mr Jabbar’s treatment, and that the families are given clear information about what has gone wrong.”
