Heart surgeon who allegedly fiddled surgery results now hired as locum Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital

Ian Wilson faced being struck off for allegedly falsifying results at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham but survived a General Medical Council investigation.

Last week, a GMC hearing ordered that he is able to work, but under strict conditions.

He had been working at New Cross on a voluntary basis under supervision but is now working as a locum on a week-by-week contract and his superiors have praised his 'high quality' work.

See also: New Cross role for axed heart doctor.

Mr Wilson was accused of changing information to make his results appear better on a database designed to allow patients to compare the success rates of surgeons. He was dismissed by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the QE Hospital, after an internal investigation.

In March, he began what hospital chiefs called a 're-familiarisation' programme in Wolverhampton, working unpaid and under strict supervision.

Chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, David Loughton, said patients should be 'reassured' about the accuracy of surgical data at the trust.

See also: New Cross bid to lure back nurses.

He added: "On March 2014 Mr Wilson commenced a re-familiarisation programme at the trust, his operating has been carefully observed as part of a formal process in line with that used by the National Clinical Assessment Service.

"This programme was shared with the Royal College of Surgeons. His practice has been found to be not only sound, but of a very high quality.

"I understand that concerns have been expressed about Mr Wilson's data collection whilst at University Hospitals Birmingham.

"Patients should be reassured about the accuracy of cardiac surgical data coming out of the Wolverhampton cardiothoracic surgical unit as 100 per cent of this data undergoes internal validation by the audit department prior to submission to the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery."

Mr Loughton said that Mr Wilson had not been provided with an explanation for the action carried out by UHB.

See also: 'Unprecedented' emergency pressures at New Cross, says chief.

"The trust understands that Mr Wilson has been provided with neither an explanation of the basis for the more recent exercise undertaken by UHB, nor the raw data that was reviewed," he added.

"We understand that Mr Wilson, and many specialists in the area, have significant concerns about the validity of the exercise undertaken by UHB.

"In such circumstances it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this issue."

The issues with Mr Wilson are believed to be related purely to data collection and not with his ability as a surgeon.

UHB alleged he had shortened the length of time his patients were recorded as on heart-lung bypass to give the impression that his operations were going more smoothly than they were.

Dr Jonathan Odum, medical director at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, added of last week's GMC hearing: "The trust is aware of the GMC conditions on Mr Wilson's practice and at the Interim Orders Panel meeting held on the October 2 the decision by the GMC was to keep the conditions in place.

"The GMC will be undertaking a further review in due course.

"The trust can confirm that Mr Wilson is working as a locum consultant cardiothoracic surgeon and is working in line with the conditions as set out by the GMC."