An orthopaedic surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals Trust (CUHT) has been suspended from Addenbrooke’s after an initial review identified nine children who had suffered care “below the standard” expected by the Trust.

The suspended surgeon, Kuldeep Stohr, spoke of seeing about 200 patients a month at the hospital during a 2022 webinar. She is now subject of two internal reviews and one conducted by independent external specialists.

The initial review was conducted in January by James Hunter, a surgeon and the national clinical leader for paediatric trauma and orthopaedics at NHS England.

Hunter has now worked with the Trust to identify 800 of Stohr’s patients to be assessed by a team of experts in a new review. Of these identified patients 560 are children, 140 are adults, and 100 were both adult and children treated as emergencies.

Some families believe the operations were not performed correctly, had poor post-surgery follow-up, and alleged delays in complications being recognized and treated.

Many children had to have multiple operations over the years. Of these, one child allegedly had a dislocated hip for up to two years. Some patients are likely to need more surgery.

Stohr had her practice restricted by the trust last October after colleagues at the hospital first raised concerns about her.

She was also the subject of undisclosed allegations a decade ago which has led to the Trust now facing questions about whether it could have acted sooner. A review completed in 2016 identified concerns about the treatment of a small number of patients, making recommendations to the trust for actions it should take.

Catherine Slattery, a medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is supporting affected families and patients, told The Times: “One of the most worrying questions connected to this review is whether the recommendations of the 2016 report were actually implemented.”

Slaterry added: “Given the level of detail the trust has released, there’s currently an understandable concern that the 2016 recommendations may not have been implemented and patients may have suffered avoidable harm as a result of actions recommended nearly a decade ago not being put into practice.”

The review’s initial findings were announced by CUHT in February but did not name Stohr. Currently, Stohr, a specialist in paediatric orthopaedic surgery and paediatric trauma, has no restrictions on her license from the General Medical Council, but has been informed by the Cambridge Trust about its concerns.

The Cambridge Trust has also notified Great Ormond Street and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital about the concerns with Stohr’s care. Both NHS England and the care regulator – the Care Quality Commission – have also been informed.

Stohr had been working privately at the Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital, but has since ceased work there following her suspension.

Despite Stohr’s suspension, the surgeon has been found to have delivered a training course for the charity Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK).

A spokesperson for ORUK said: “We have been made aware that one of our teaching faculty, Kuldeep Stohr, has been suspended by Cambridge University Hospitals Trust.”

They added that “Stohr delivered a training course on behalf of our charity [called] ‘Everyday Children’s Fractures: Everyday Questions’” in March of this year, but noted “the convenor who organised the course was unaware that Stohr was under suspension at that time”.

All online materials relating to courses by Stohr have since been removed from the ORUK, and delegates who attended the courses will be contacted.

In a statement Stohr said: “I always strive to provide the highest standards of care to all my patients. I am cooperating fully with the trust investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

She continued: “Another review of 700 patients will also be conducted by a team of expert clinicians overseen by the barrister Andrew Kennedy KC.”

Kennedy added: “We will work tirelessly to examine all the cases within the scope of this review and to ensure that any shortcomings in care are identified as quickly as possible so that patients and families are fully informed and further consultations and treatment can be offered as appropriate.”

The Chief Executive of Cambridge University Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust, Roland Sinker, said: “We remain very sorry that this has happened and we apologise unreservedly to our patients and their families.”

Affected families will be contacted and some could be clinically assessed to ensure that they are not suffering from any untreated complications. Family liaison officers have also been appointed by the trust to help support families throughout the reviews.

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