94 patients were harmed during care by Great Ormond Street Hospital orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar, report finds

A report into disgraced former Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon Yaser Jabbar has found that 94 children were harmed during the care he provided.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) released a report on Thursday into the actions of the former orthopaedic surgeon who treated hundreds of children over five years.

The review found that 98 patients (12.4%) experienced some level of harm, and 94 of these cases were linked specifically to the care provided by Mr Jabbar.

The London hospital undertook a clinical case review of 789 of Jabbar's cases after concerns were raised about his clinical practice.

Some patients were left in continuous pain or needed further corrective surgeries, the independent review found.

Harm gradings ranged from mild, such as an unnecessary general anaesthetic, to severe gradings for situations like delayed diagnosis of complications or surgery that did not achieve the intended outcome.

Some 36 children suffered severe harm because of Jabbar, who worked at the hospital between 2017 and 2022 and focused on lower limb reconstructions.

A further 39 patients suffered moderate harm and 19 patients came to mild harm, the report said.

"There were instances of premature removal of fixation devices, the combination of procedures without clear rationale, inadequate counselling on fracture risk, and an over-reliance on junior staff," the report said.

"There were some serious problems found, including poor planning before surgery, not making the area stable enough, unclear or incomplete notes, and putting implants in the wrong place.

"Other issues were making cuts in the bone at the wrong level or using the wrong method, making decisions that didn't match what was seen in the scans during surgery, problems with how frames and pins were used, and not involving the wider team when dealing with infections."

Analysis of the independent expert case reports "identified that Mr Jabbar was highly inconsistent in his approach to clinical care with recurrent deficiencies in documentation, assessment, and surgical decision-making", the report said.

James Wood, 19, from Great Yarmouth, was left in "horrifying" pain after Jabbar carried out a procedure to stretch the tissue in his knee by fixing a frame to his leg. He also carried out an Achilles tendon lengthening procedure.

Mr Wood - who was born with multiple pterygium syndrome that caused skin webbing across the joints - experienced extreme pain and swelling in his right thigh.

It was later found that one of the pins used to secure the frame had protruded into Mr Wood's thigh, causing bleeding and damage to the femoral artery when it was removed.

In another case, a leg lengthening procedure Jabbar carried out on Vivaan Sharma, 12, to correct a shortened and bowed right leg was found to have been "incorrect and unsuitable".

Jabbar was found to have used a different frame to the one commonly used in such procedures, with the issue being too complex to resolve in a single procedure.

Though the report found Vivaan had suffered moderate harm, his parents said the treatment had impacted his independence beyond six months and caused nightmares.

"It's appalling. Our boy will be affected for life," Mr Sharma said.

In some cases, patient records were incomplete, meaning it was not possible to reach a clear conclusion.

A very small number of children came to harm for reasons not related to Mr Jabbar, such as administrative delays or issues involving other clinicians.

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GOSH chief executive Mat Shaw apologised to affected families on Thursday, branding Jabbar's practice as "entirely unacceptable".

"We are profoundly sorry to all the patients and their families who have been affected by the care provided by Mr Jabbar," he said.

"The report we have published today sets out in full what happened, what we found in our review of patients, what we have learnt and what we have done as a consequence."

Mr Shaw said significant changes had been made at the hospital but acknowledged "this comes too late for the families affected by this issue."

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "We will review the report commissioned by GOSH and assess whether there is any requirement for police involvement."

Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January 2024.

He is believed to have since moved overseas.

(c) Sky News 2026: 94 patients were harmed during care by Great Ormond Street Hospital orthopae