A total of seven inquests have been opened into the deaths of women treated by a Glasgow-born breast surgeon who was jailed in 2017 after being found guilty of wounding patients.
Ian Paterson was sentenced to 15 years in prison - later increased to 20 by Court of Appeal judges - for crimes which were committed in NHS and private hospitals in the West Midlands.
Paterson was found to have carried out numerous unnecessary operations, exaggerating or inventing cancer risks and claiming payments for more expensive procedures.
Four inquests linked to the Birmingham and Solihull coroner's preliminary investigations into patients of Paterson were opened and adjourned earlier this month, with coroner Emma Brown saying yesterday that she had reason to believe three further deaths "may have been caused or contributed to by acts or omissions in the treatment provided by Mr Paterson, and potentially by other clinicians involved in the care".
Back in February, The independent Paterson Inquiry found that many of his patients were "lied to, deceived or exploited", while also noting that Paterson was able to go on performing unnecessary operations for years amid a "dysfunctional" healthcare system that failed patients.
The inquiry was presented with NHS figures showing that of Paterson's 1,206 mastectomy patients, 675 had died by 2017, reports Birmingham Live.
The Birmingham and Solihull coroner formally opened the additional inquests in a hearing conducted over a video-link at Birmingham Coroner's Court, to comply with Covid-19 guidance.
She added it was "anticipated" that further inquests would be opened, and that a pre-inquest review hearing would be fixed in due course once the total number of inquests is known.
