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Hospital boss will not quit after failed surgeries

Phil Shepka and
Harriet Heywood,Cambridgeshire
BBC Mr Sinker is dressed in a dark suit jacket with a white shirt and a deep red tie. He is indoors in front of a blue wall. Behind him, there is a large framed abstract artwork. A tall green plant and a black floor lamp are visible to the left. His head is tilted slightly as he looks directly at the camera, not smiling, as he speaks to the BBC interviewer, who is out of shot.BBC
Roland Sinker became chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals in 2015, when concerns were first raised about Kuldeep Stohr

A senior NHS hospital boss said he will not step down following a report into failed surgeries that left some patients with life-altering injuries.

Concerns about consultant surgeon Kuldeep Stohr at Addenbrooke's Hospital were first raised as early as 2015, around the time Roland Sinker became chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH).

Mr Sinker said he had been unaware of the concerns about Ms Stohr, who continued to practise until 2024 and was suspended earlier this year.

Speaking to BBC Look East, Mr Sinker said he was very sorry to those affected, but he would "not be resigning" as the trust was implementing new plans that "will put patients at the heart of how we deliver services in future".

Orthopaedic Academy A video shot of Kuldeep Stohr giving a lecture to Orthopaedic Academy. She wears brown glasses and has hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a black cardiganOrthopaedic Academy
Kuldeep Stohr was investigated in relation to 700 planned and 100 emergency operations involving children and some adults

The Verita report, commissioned by CUH, found there were "a series of missed opportunities" and concluded that earlier action from the CUH could have reduced harm.

One "pivotal missed opportunity" came when the hospital trust failed to act on recommendations made by an external reviewer about her work in 2016, the report said.

CUH, which runs Addenbrooke's, said it accepted "the findings and recommendations" and noted a separate external review was ongoing.

Steve Hubbard/BBC The exterior of Addenbrooke's Hospital, a mix of white and grey low-leve and multi-storey buildings, with a parked ambulance and motorcycles in the foreground next to a covered bicycle rack.Steve Hubbard/BBC
Addenbrooke's Hospital has previously apologised to the patients involved

Radd Seiger, a retired lawyer who represents 25 of the families affected by failed surgeries, said: "This was not a rogue surgeon - this was a rogue system."

He said the "victims" involved had "been to hell and frankly, haven't come back".

He called for a fully independent, judge-led public inquiry and Mr Sinker's resignation.

Mr Sinker said: "I will not be resigning.

"That's because the plan that we have developed, the plan we have already implemented, that the independent investigation recognises, must now be taken forward.

"I would ask that we are judged on that plan that will put patients at the heart of how we deliver services in future."

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