Surgeon's practice 'a cause for concern'

4:03am Tuesday 20th May 2008

A NORTH-EAST surgeon who runs one of the best joint replacement units in the country has been accused of lacking basic surgical skills.

Mr Shankar Kashyap, the orthopaedic surgeon in charge of a highly-regarded unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Gateshead, is facing a General Medical Council (GMC) Fitness To Practise hearing into his competence as a surgeon.

If the allegations of "deficient professional performance" are upheld, the GMC has the power to impose a range of sanctions - including removal from the medical register.

Last October, Mr Kashyap was the main speaker at an event at the Queen Elizabeth hospital to mark the first anniversary of what was hailed as a pioneering rapid way of treating hip and knee replacement patients.

In 2006, a total of 600 people had joint replacements at the Queen Elizabeth hospital as part of the hospital's Rapid Recovery Programme, headed by Mr Kashyap.

Mr Kashyap told journalists that the unit had speeded up treatment and increased patient satisfaction.

The unit has been visited by surgeons from Devon and Scotland and has attracted patients from across the region.

The GMC said that, after concerns were raised by a former colleague about the surgeon's practice, he was invited to undergo a performance assessment and competence tests at the end of 2006.

The assessors found three areas of his practice to be "a cause for concern".

These areas included working within the limits of competence, communication with patients and arranging cover.

The team found his assessment of the patient's condition and record-keeping to be "unacceptable".

It is also alleged that in the competence section, three areas of practice were graded as "unacceptable" - core knowledge surgery, basic surgical skills and specialist surgical skills.

Overall, his performance in this competence section was "unacceptable".

Last night, Ian Renwick, chief executive of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Mr Shankar N Kashyap has worked at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon since 1995.

"The trust is aware that he is appearing before the GMC in connection with reports from a former colleague about his performance. The GMC considered that this warranted a fitness to practise investigation and the outcome of this is now awaited.

"The trust has worked closely with the GMC throughout this process, and has not been advised at any stage or in any way that Mr Shankar should not be allowed to continue operating."

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