'I had to give up my job and I want answers' says patient of deregistered Sunderland surgeon

Sue Freeman said she has had to give up work and is on daily morphine after being operated on by Sunderland Royal Hospital surgeon Leslie Irwin, whose procedures are currently being investigated by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT).

Sue, 53, who lives in Sunderland, first came under the care of Mr Irwin after breaking her wrist in 2005 during a fall at work.

She said: “He said I needed my ligament repaired but, after it was done, he said he wasn’t happy with it and he would need to do the repair again.”

Sue thought she had “just been unlucky” but also cited a second occasion when she had to be rushed back down to theatre to have a second operation following initial surgery.

She said: “Mr Irwin said I needed an operation to repair nerve damage. I came out of theatre and when the nurse came to discharge me the look on her face told me something was wrong and when I looked at my hand it was blue and numb.

“Mr Irwin to came up and I was taken straight back down to theatre. He didn’t say why or what had been done in the first operation.

“Following the second surgery a plaster cast was put on my hand and when they took it off, there was a lump on the side of my wrist. I didn’t know what it was but he said it would go down in time.

“It never did and the pain got worse. I’m now on daily morphine patches to cope with the pain. I’ve had seven surgeries with Mr Irwin over a 20-year period and each time it got worse, not better.”

Following the incident, Sue wrote a letter of complaint to Sunderland Royal Hospital but said she did not receive a response.

Sue was diagnosed with osteoporosis after her initial fall but continued in her job as a nursery nurse until the nerve repair surgery in 2019.

She said: “I ended up having to leave my job - a job I loved. I’m in constant pain and as nursery nurse you have to be able to pick infants up. I no longer have any grip in my left hand and I became a potential health risk to the children.

“I can’t actually use this hand any more and I can’t help but think I shouldn’t be in this position from a broken wrist. It has got to the point where I have asked my doctor if I can have my hand removed.

“I’m beginning to think I will never get my movement back and it has had really bad repercussions on my mental health and I feel like a burden on my family.”

Sue said her husband, Shaun, has had to give-up his job to become her full-time carer and they’re “struggling financially”.

Mr Irwin was also a surgeon at Spire Washington Hospital, which confirmed in January that it was contacting and recalling some patients who were operated on by him.

One of those was David Render, who was “shocked” after receiving an apology and admission from Spire Washington Hospital that the quality of surgery he received was “poor” and caused damage to the structure of his wrist.

Sue’s case has been taken on by law-firm Slater and Gordon, which said more than 100 former patents of Mr Irwin have come forward seeking help.

She said: “I was shocked when I saw patients were being recalled and his procedures investigated. All I want is answers.”

Responding to Sue’s case, an STSFT spokesperson said: "We’re liaising with Spire in relation to concerns over Mr Leslie Irwin and currently working through detail of which patients the trust will need to review.

“We’ve also asked the Royal College of Surgeons to support us in this process.

“As part of this review, we will be in touch with any former patients directly and as a matter of priority.

“Any former patients of Mr Irwin who’ve any questions or concerns can contact the trust directly via freephone 0800 587 6513.

Sue said the trust have said she will be informed by August if she is being recalled.

Spire Healthcare confirmed in an earlier statement that Mr Irwin was suspended in August 2023 and that it withdrew his practising privileges in September 2024.

The General Medical Council confirmed “Dr Leslie Irwin is no longer registered, having relinquished his registration”, adding “we only have powers to investigate doctors who are GMC registered”.