A FORMER patient who led a high-profile campaign to get a disgraced gynaecologist struck off has been invited to help the NHS put its house in order.

Sheila Wright-Hogeland, from near Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, was the prime mover behind a well-organised campaign by victims of gynaecologist Richard Neale to get the surgeon struck off the medical register.

Neale, who was struck off in Canada following the deaths of two of his patients but still managed to get a senior hospital job in North Yorkshire, was finally removed from the UK register five years ago.

Mrs Wright-Hogeland, who was left infertile and in pain after being treated by the former Friarage Hospital gyneacologist, has been asked by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to help highlight how NHS procedures can be improved to reduce the risk to patients of things going wrong.

Mrs Wright-Hogeland and other women who have had complications after gynaecological surgery have been invited to a one-day seminar which will be attended by medical and managerial staff from the NHS.

The hope is that by hearing directly from victims of gynaecological blunders the NHS can learn lessons for the future.

In a letter to Mrs Wright-Hogeland, Sara Johnson, a spokeswoman for the NPSA, states: "Everyday more than a million people are treated safely and successfully in the NHS but the evidence tells us that in complex healthcare systems things will and do go wrong, no matter how dedicated and professional the staff."

Mrs Wright-Hogeland, who had to fight for years before the health service accepted there was a problem with Neale, said the invitation suggested that things were changing in the NHS.

"I do think the NHS is really trying, at long last, to take steps intended to put right a lot of what has been wrong and they seem to feel I can help. I certainly intend to try to help them," she added.