The prison sentence of disgraced breast cancer surgeon Ian Paterson is today (Thursday 3 August) being considered by the Court of Appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice, London.

The case of Ian Paterson, who is currently serving 15 years imprisonment after being convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three of unlawful wounding, has been referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme by the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland MP.

Campaigning law firm Thompsons Solicitors, who is acting on behalf of over 500 of Paterson’s former patients, say that they and their clients are pleased that the sentence is being reviewed.

“I lost everything – my home, my job, my marriage – as a result of what that man did.”

Diane Green Thompsons Solicitors’ client

This is about putting Patients Before Profits and making sure private healthcare companies adhere to the same standards and obligations of transparency, safety and accountability as the NHS.

Linda Millband national lead lawyer for clinical negligence

Linda Millband, national lead lawyer for clinical negligence at Thompsons Solicitors said: “The criminal actions of Ian Paterson were despicable and we are pleased that the Solicitor General has seen fit to seek a revision to the length of his sentence which, we felt, was far too lenient by comparison to the legacy he has left on the lives of our clients.

“However, the criminal sentence is only one part of the story, and our focus remains on a continued drive to guarantee fair and just compensation for affected patients, and to establish stronger legal protections for patients treated privately.

“We want the government to take steps to intervene to put an end to a system which allows private healthcare providers to claim a ‘landlord defence’ absolves them of legal responsibility and a duty to compensate victims when individuals, like Paterson, deliver negligent treatment and people are harmed on their premises.

“This is about putting Patients Before Profits and making sure private healthcare companies adhere to the same standards and obligations of transparency, safety and accountability as the NHS, and to guarantee that private patients are given the same opportunity to seek compensation if they are subjected to medical negligence.”

Thompsons Solicitors’ client Diane Green, who was given two unnecessary double mastectomies by 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 what he did, a sentence of 15 years which is really only seven and a half, is simply not enough for maiming and butchering hundreds of women like me.”