Yaser Jabbar: Family question Great Ormond Street Hospital care after teen's death amid surgeon investigation

The hospital recently apologised after an internal review found that multiple children, treated by Jabbar, had suffered "severe harm" due to his actions. Over 700 cases involving the surgeon are now under review, with families questioning how these incidents went unchecked for so long​.

Lynda Reynolds, a partner at Hugh James, has been critical of GOSH's handling of adverse incidents, especially after representing the family of Amy Allan, a 14-year-old who died following elective surgery at the hospital.

According to Reynolds, an independent expert concluded that Amy's surgery should never have been offered due to the high risks involved, and the planning and post-operative care were inadequate. GOSH ultimately accepted this finding, and the coroner issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report after the inquest. Reynolds said: "It became apparent to Amy's family and me that GOSH lacked a culture of openness and a willingness to admit and learn from errors."

She pointed out that the hospital repeatedly failed to conduct Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) reports. "This is highly unusual in cases involving poor outcomes," Reynolds added, noting the lack of such reports raised concerns about GOSH's internal policies and oversight.

Some of the children treated by Jabbar, a former consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital, were left with serious complications, including one child who had a leg up to 20cm shorter than the other. Others continue to experience chronic pain years after their treatment, and one child required an amputation, a result that experts later suggested could have been avoided.

An external review of 39 of the 721 patients treated by Jabbar found that 13 suffered "severe harm," nine experienced "low/moderate harm," two cases were referred for further peer review, and the remaining 15 experienced no harm.

Jabbar’s practices came under scrutiny after GOSH requested the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to review its paediatric surgery department in 2022, following concerns raised by staff and families about the quality of care. One of the children who suffered "severe harm" was only four months old, according to The Sunday Times.

The hospital is now facing criticism for its response to the concerns about Jabbar, with some parents stating that GOSH was slow to act and did not adequately address their complaints. Jabbar, who is believed to be working in Dubai, did not respond to requests for comment. It was also reported that for 11 months before he left the UK, Jabbar was on full pay but did not work at the trust.

The firm said the latest allegations surrounding Jabbar have further amplified these concerns. She asked: "How many missed opportunities were there to learn and address these issues?" She believes that proper investigations and transparency could have prevented further harm to other children.

Reynolds stressed the importance of families seeking independent legal advice when dealing with potential medical negligence. "Amy’s family struggled for months on their own, trying to uncover the truth behind her death, only to be met with denial and delay," she said, adding that GOSH's initial response consisted of a 57-page document that made no admissions of fault regarding Amy’s care.

A spokesperson for the hospital said: “We have contacted all patients and families who have been impacted and where harm has been identified, discussed their cases with them under our duty of candour. The full report contains personally identifiable data relating to patients and staff and it would not be appropriate to share it.

“However, the Trust intends to share the contents of an executive summary through our publicly available board papers in December 24. Public release of this information needs to be timed to take into consideration patient communications, which remains our priority.”