The prison sentence of disgraced breast cancer surgeon Ian Paterson has today (3 August 2017) been increased to twenty years by a Court of Appeal held at the Royal Courts of Justice, London. 

Mr Ian Paterson, who is currently imprisoned after being convicted of three counts of unlawful wounding and 17 counts of wounding with intent following decades of negligent surgical practice in the Midlands was originally sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 15 years’ imprisonment. Today, following a referral by the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland MP, that sentence was increased to 20 years following an appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

“While no amount of jail time can repay or make up for what he did, a sentence 15 years which is really only seven and a half, was never going to be enough for maiming and butchering hundreds of women like me.”

Diane Green Thompsons Solicitors’ client

Many of our clients were subjected to significant harm at the hands of Mr Paterson and some have been left with life-long conditions. While no length of sentence can undo this harm, it seems right and fair that this otherwise lenient sentence was revised, and extended by the courts.

Linda Millband national lead lawyer for clinical negligence

Thompsons Solicitors is representing over 500 of Ian Paterson’s former patients. National lead lawyer for clinical negligence at Thompsons Solicitors Linda Millband said: “Many of our clients were subjected to significant harm at the hands of Mr Paterson and some have been left with life-long conditions. While no length of sentence can undo this harm, it seems right and fair that this otherwise lenient sentence was revised, and extended by the courts. 

“However, the criminal matter is only one part of this story. Thompsons remains concerned by, and committed to changing, aspects of the legal system covering patients who receive private treatment and will continue our Patients Before Profits campaign to ensure the government intervenes to stop private healthcare providers shirking responsibility for the actions of negligent practitioners on their premises.” 

Thompsons Solicitors’ client Diane Green, who was given two unnecessary double mastectomies by Ian Paterson, said: “I lost everything – my home, my job, my marriage – as a result of what that man did. While no amount of jail time can repay or make up for what he did, a sentence 15 years which is really only seven and a half, was never going to be enough for maiming and butchering hundreds of women like me.”

“It is encouraging to see the Court of Appeal listening to victims like me and extending the sentence to 20 years. Perhaps now Spire Healthcare, the private hospital provider where I received my treatment, will begin to accept responsibility for its role and provide compensation to those whose lives have been ruined. My lawyers Thompsons Solicitors have been fantastic in supporting us, and I urge people to get behind their Patients Before Profits campaign to help us on our continued fight for justice."