A neurosurgeon practicing in Coventry, Warwick and Northampton has been stopped from carrying out two specific surgical procedures pending further training.

Following an inspection by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), Hussein El-Maghraby has been told not to perform any more complex spinal operations or brain surgery while the patient is awake.

The RCS was asked to review four of Mr El-Maghraby’s cases in September 2017.

Mr El-Maghraby is a consultant neurosurgeon for University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UCHW) NHS Trust and for the private Woodland Hospital in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

The RCS’s review team identified that, through personal choice, some of Mr El Maghraby’s clinical practice were within two areas of neurosurgery sub-specialisation that the Trust had not originally appointed him and in which he had not received any formal, advanced training.

The review found Mr Maghraby was “technically competent” but lacked insight into “adverse outcomes” and “overcommitted” to procedures. The RCS investigation said that “this had led him to rush some aspects of his practice and could have led him to not devoting enough time to putting things right when they had gone wrong”.

Mr El-Maghraby has been under scrutiny before in 2014, when a review was commissioned by University Hospital Coventry after concerns over Mr El-Maghraby were raised by a former colleague. The review looked at spinal surgery Mr El-Maghraby carried out on a patient with severe back problems, including curvature of the spine. The surgery was performed at Woodland Hospital.

Following the procedure, the patient developed numbness and had to go through an emergency operation by a different surgeon. The patient spent seven months bedridden and is now incontinent and virtually unable to walk. However, the review concluded that “the level of care given by Mr El-Maghraby was appropriate to that expected from a consultant neurosurgeon“.

Birchall Blackburn Law is currently representing a patient who received spinal surgery at UCHW NHS Trust and Woodland Hospital (Ramsay UK Healthcare Operations).

Andrew Taylor, Partner and head of Birchall Blackburn Law’s Healthcare and Clinical Risk team, says: “We are in the process of securing further information regarding Mr El Maghraby’s surgical practice and whether the recommendations made following the RCS inquiry have been taken up and complied with. The results of the RCS’s review are very worrying and from examining UHCW’s Board Meeting papers, there appears to have been a number of complaints relating to the hospital’s Neurosurgery unit over a number of years. It’s really important that anyone concerned about a surgical procedure to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Patients who suffer injuries or complications during and after complex surgery should receive the right support and rehabilitation to help them make the best recovery possible.”

The RCS reviewed four of Mr El-Maghraby’s cases and recommended that Mr El-Maghraby should cease performing the two complex operations. The Trust has since confirmed that Mr El-Maghraby has stopped carrying out the two specific surgical procedures pending further training and mentorship (Trust Board Meeting – March 2018 pdf (Pg61 of 208)).

Andrew Taylor is a Law Society Accredited Clinical Negligence Law specialist.  Andrew and his team have decades of experience helping hundreds of people who have been through the trauma of negligent and, in some cases, unnecessary spinal surgery. Our experience means we understand the immense physical and psychological impact and the profound effect it has on the person, and their family and friends.  We are dedicated to securing the best possible outcome for the people we help so they can go on to live a fulfilling life.

If you have any questions regarding negligent surgery and making a compensation claim, talk to one of our compassionate and expert team members on 0800 230 0573. Or get in touch by emailing us on clinicalnegligence@birchallblackburn.co.uk.