Who is Ian Paterson the butcher surgeon and what did he do?

ITV News

03-06-2025

An ITV documentary, Bodies of Evidence: The Butcher Surgeon, uncovers the shocking story of Ian Paterson and his victims.
Paterson, who was based in Birmingham, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for his crimes, after carrying out needless operations over a 14-year period.
While working as a breast surgeon consultant, he was diagnosing cancer when there wasn't any and cutting patients open for no reason.
He was found guilty in 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.
This film from the ITV Exposure strand talks to victims, fellow doctors and a key whistleblower to tell the extraordinary story of how the system allowed Paterson to perform unnecessary and damaging surgery on so many for so long.
Here's a guide to who Ian Paterson is and how he performed damaging surgeries:
Who is Ian Paterson?
The breast surgeon, 62, is currently serving 20 years for his 14-year campaign of botched operations he carried out in the West Midlands.
Paterson, who is due to be freed in 2027, was jailed in 2017 for wounding with intent and ­unlawfully wounding nine women and one man he treated between 1997 and 2011.
He convinced cancer patients to undergo operations in NHS and private hospitals by inventing or exaggerating the risks of tumours to earn extra cash and maintain a successful reputation.
Where did Ian Paterson work?
Paterson was a consultant breast surgeon in the West Midlands, working in both NHS and private practice at Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital, Good Hope Hospital, Spire Hospital Parkway and Spire Hospital Little Aston.
When was Ian Paterson suspended?
Ian Paterson was not suspended from carrying out his NHS or private work until 2011. Whistleblowers said they reported concerns about Paterson years before this.
What is the Paterson inquiry?
The Paterson inquiry investigated how the surgeon was able to carry out unnecessary surgeries undetected for so many years.
In 2020 it found "patients were let down over many years" by the NHS and private hospitals and opportunities to stop Paterson were "missed, time after time".
Inquiry chairman the Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, said there was a culture of "avoidance and denial", which allowed the breast surgeon to carry out unnecessary and botched operations on hundreds of women.
The inquiry recommended that the NHS Trust, which employed Paterson, and private health firm Spire Healthcare recall all of Paterson's patients.
How many victims did Ian Paterson have?
A total of 675 out of 1,207 women who underwent the unregulated treatment had died by 2017.
More than 750 victims have already successfully claimed after receiving unapproved and life-threatening surgery from Paterson, who treated more than 11,000 patients.
Will they get compensation?
Public and private hospitals Paterson worked for have already paid out millions of pounds to those he operated on and their families.
Spire Healthcare, which runs the private hospitals where Paterson operated, has paid out £13.1 million in compensation and set aside an additional £4.6 million for "future costs".
Spire Healthcare told ITV News: 'An additional £4.6m has been set aside to complete the ongoing patient reviews and settle future claims and costs. Spire continually reviews the level of the fund's provision, which is dependent on the amount and size of claims received and any new information gained.'
The latest investigations
Five investigations into Patterson's practices have been conducted following two independent reports, a criminal trial, and one government inquiry.
The most recent, which has been suspended, is examining the deaths of 62 women who were operated on by Paterson and later died of breast cancer.
How much will it cost?
Despite the fact that the inquests are due to finish in 2026, the Birmingham City Council is allocating funding until 2028.
More than £2.5 million has already been spent.
The costs all relate to the administration of the inquests, including fees for the coroner, legal counsel, solicitors and legal teams representing the NHS.
What has happened at the inquests into the deaths of his patients?
Ian Paterson refused to attend the first of more than 60 inquests touching on the deaths of his former patients because he believes the coroner's investigation is "biased", the court has been told.
The breast surgeon was ordered by coroner Richard Foster to appear remotely at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court to give evidence at the inquest of Chloe Nikitas, who died at the age of 43 in April 2008.
Mr Foster issued a ruling on the 21st October saying he could 'find no reason' why Paterson could not attend the inquest and give evidence remotely from prison, and said it was 'disappointing' to the families of the victims that he had decided not to appear.
Paterson had been accused of attempting to delay the hearings after lodging an application to have his witness summons revoked the day before the first inquest was due to start on October 10. He cited health concerns, a lack of legal representation, and 'inadequate facilities to prepare.'
The first inquest into the death of one of Paterson's patients heard on the 22nd October that a mother who was given a "cleavage-sparing" mastectomy then had her breast cancer return.
Chloe Nikitas, an environmental consultant from Tamworth, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and was treated by the West Midlands"butcher" surgeon.
He told her he could perform a mastectomy, which would leave some skin behind to ensure her cleavage would look normal.
She then discovered a lump in the same breast in 2005, which was the same type of cancer she had three years earlier.
That cancer diagnosis was terminal, and she died at the age of 43 at the Priory Hospital in April 2008.
The inquest into the death of Ms Nikitas is the first of 62 into the deaths of Paterson's former patients scheduled to be heard at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court over the next eight months.
The second inquest into the death of another of Paterson's victims opened on the 29th of October.
Elaine Turbill, who was 63 and from Solihull, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy carried out by Paterson the following month.
The inquest in Birmingham heard that Elaine, who worked as a legal secretary, had been married for 40 years and had two children.
In a statement, her daughter Gemma said her mother was a "kind, loving and friendly person whose smile lit up a room. She enjoyed going to church, cooking and gardening and loved family trips to Mablethorpe to "smell the sea air".
Elaine Turbill died in 2017. Her daughter said seven years on, the pain never goes away.
She said she feels her mother's death could have been prevented, which would have given her the opportunity to see her second grandchild.
These inquests are currently suspended, and not a single inquest has been heard so far this year, with several hearings cancelled.
Birmingham City Council has been contacted for a response.