New compensation fund for Ian Paterson’s private patients

Following the announcement last year that Mr Paterson’s private patients would be recalled for review by Spire Healthcare (see our comment dated 21/12/20), lawyers acting for Spire have now taken steps to set up a new compensation fund and have applied to the Court for permission to put a scheme in place to deal with any claims arising from his private treatment.

The scheme is to be open to any of Mr Paterson’s former patients who have not previously been compensated. A previous scheme was set up in 2017 and later closed in 2018 however, since that time the independent inquiry into Mr Paterson’s patients has raised issues over the lack of a formal recall and that many patients may have been unaware of the possibility of making a claim. The new scheme is intended to offer redress to those patients with tenable claims.

Georgia Briscoe, Director of Medical Negligence commented;

“We are very pleased to see that Spire Healthcare has responded to the findings of the Inquiry and is being proactive in addressing the issue of compensating his private patients. The scheme is currently being reviewed by the court and full details are not yet available, however, we are inviting former private patients of Mr Paterson to contact us now with a view to ensuring their inclusion in any scheme once finalised alongside our existing client base.”