How surgeon's errors led to years of misery
05/02/2002

When Maureen Sanders came round, the nurse warned her:"You will feel like you have been kicked by a horse."

Admitted to The Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, for a hysterectomy, Maureen discovered that her surgeon - Richard Neale - had removed both her ovaries.

"It was a surprise because I didn't give consent to have my ovaries taken out. One was apparently diseased, but the other one was only slightly affected," said Mrs Sanders, who eventually underwent four operations by Mr Neale.

At the time, she accepted his story that both ovaries were diseased. "It sounded sensible. It wasn't until we found out about him and looked at my medical records that we discovered one of the ovaries was fine," said Mrs Sanders, 56, of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire.

The second operation, in November 1989, ten months after the first, was due to a prolapse. It was not a success, leaving her with bladder problems.

A third operation, to repair the damage, was a complete failure. At this stage, it became public knowledge that Mr Neale had been struck off in Canada after the death of a patient.

There were also reports that he had been cautioned by the police after being found in a compromising situation in the men's toilets in Richmond.

"I rang the Friarage and they told me this lady in Canada would have died anyway. They said there would be a full investigation into him and if they were not happy with him they would not reinstate him," said Mrs Sanders.

She put her faith in the hospital and, when he was reinstated, went under Mr Neale's knife again.

That was in July 1994, but the fourth operation also failed.

"After the fourth operation, I was in a worse state than when he started on me," said Mrs Sanders, who was left with major bladder and bowel problems.

"It got so I couldn't turn over in bed or I would leak, and I was frightened of having another operation."

Overcoming her fear, she had corrective surgery at Leeds General Infirmary and is now considerably better.

But in the 18 months she had to wait for her operation, she suffered distress and anxiety.

"It is not just the physical problems I have had, it is the psychological problems as well," she said.

She wonders whether those who stood by Mr Neale would have been happy to allow him to operate on members of their families.