Boss backs surgeon who failed op tests
The medical director of The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust has publicly backed a leading cardiac surgeon who failed basic surgery and competence tests.
The medical director of The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust has publicly backed a leading cardiac surgeon who failed basic surgery and competence tests.
Dr Wilfred Pugsley is facing a fitness to practice panel at the General Medical Council in Manchester, after an assessment carried out in 2005 found his performance was unacceptable in the "test of knowledge, cardiac surgery", and "gave concern in basic surgical skills".
The doctor, who still works at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital, voluntarily stopped carrying out cardiac surgery after two "clusters" of deaths were recorded between 2002 and December 2005.
Dr Pugsley helped establish the hospital's flagship £57million Heart & Lung Centre as the lead cardiac surgeon. He continues to perform lung surgery, but could be banned from performing cardiac surgery again.
Appearing as a witness yesterday trust medical director, Brian Millar said: "We now have a very flourishing cardiac unit and he has not been given the praise he deserved I think. The setting up of the successful unit is due to his skill and leadership.
In the two or three years before the unit opened Mr Pugsley was asked to take on patients from across the Black Country and operated on them in Brighton.
"His fatality count was two – which is low. But in December 2002 there were three, maybe four fatalities. I took advice from a professor I know and trust and he advised me. What came out after the discussion was that Mr Pugsley would have an assessment.
"The assessor found that Mr Pugsley was a very competent surgeon and that he found he could go back to surgery unsupervised.
"He had no deaths at all until December 2005 then there was another cluster. Because of the previous cluster we decided we needed to look more closely at the patients who had died."
He added: "I arranged for a rapid response to review and I think they responded within two to three weeks. They told me that they found that Dr Pugsley could return to thoracic surgery but they were going to do a report into his return to cardiac surgery.
"Mr Pugsley is an understated, meticulous, true team player. His care for patients is absolutely first class. Mr Pugsley treats patients humanely if it was my relative, my mother or wife, I would have confidence in Mr Pugsley as their surgeon."
The hearing continues.
