Great Ormond Street Hospital: families of 'rogue' orthopaedic surgeon involved in review urged to come forward

• Great Ormond Street Hospital has launched an urgent review of more than 720 cases of children who were seen by a former orthopaedic surgeon.
• The Royal College of Surgeons (RCOS) was asked to review the children hospital’s orthopaedic services in 2023.
• This comes after complaints were made about the practice of former surgeon Yaser Jabbar.
• Children have reportedly been left with life-changing injuries including amputations, permanent deformities and chronic pain.
• Solicitor Caroline Murgatroyd is urging families with concerns about their children’s care to come forward.

The cases of more than 720 children who were seen by a former orthopaedic surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital are being reviewed in an urgent investigation. The hospital trust said that the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) was asked in 2023 to launched a review of its orthopaedic service after accusations were made about the practice of Yaser Jabbar, a former surgeon, who worked at the London children’s hospital between 2017 and 2022.

According to the Sunday Times, patients treated by Jabbar, suffered life-changing injuries including amputations, permanent deformities and chronic pain.

Around 39 cases have been reviewed so far, with 22 of those flagging issues. Nine patients have suffered “low to moderate” injuries”, while 13 came to “severe harm” that may include lifelong injuries.

Who is the orthopaedic surgeon?

Yaser Jabbar is a former surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital. He studied at St George's Hospital Medical School in London and was reportedly an expert in limb reconstruction.

The Daily Mail has reported that he is now based in Dubai, where it is understood that he has continued to operate on children at the Clemenceau Medical Center and at orthopaedic facility Orthocure, however a page about him on their website is now unavailable.

Hudgell Solicitors who are representing the families of a number of children treated by the surgeon stated that the review into treatment provided had raised questions over whether he was suitably qualified.

When did Yaser Jabbar work at Great Ormond Street Hospital?

Jabbar started working at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2017 and left his role in 2022. He has not worked at the GOSH facility since and has not had a licence to practice medicine in the UK since January 8, according to the BBC.

What does the report say?

The full report has not been released, but information that has been revealed to the families “paints a very worrying picture”, and “indicates there may have been serious failures in care to many patients, over a number of years,” according to solicitor Caroline Murgatroyd. Some of the findings “have been shocking to read”, in one case a child underwent an amputation after having a series of procedures, with the review panel finding this outcome could have possibly been avoided. Other cases found children had been left with leg length discrepancies following “inappropriate and unnecessary surgeries”.

Miss Murgatroyd confirmed that all of Jabbar’s patients are now being reviewed by independent experts from other paediatric hospitals in the UK and is urging families with concerns about their children’s care to come forward. She said: “I think initially people may have been reluctant to seek legal help until the full investigation, which is ongoing, is completed. However, I’d encourage people to contact us if their children were under the care of this surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, especially if they have concerns over treatments, surgeries, and a lack of consultation and understanding of what was being done.”

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