Kidney death doctors face probe

Surgeon John Roberts had always denied the charge

The General Medical Council will probe two surgeons cleared of manslaughter after removing the wrong kidney from a patient who later died.

War veteran Graham Reeves, 70, died five weeks after the botched kidney operation at Llanelli's Prince Philip Hospital.

But consultant urologist John Roberts, 60, and Dr Mahesh Goel, 40, walked free after a key prosecution witness said he "could not be sure" their surgery had caused his death.

Mr Goel also denied manslaughter

The doctors watchdog announced it is "looking at the issues" raised by the case to decide if it should carry out any action.

But calls for a public inquiry also surfaced after Tuesday's court drama, which surprised Mr Reeves' friends and neighbours.

So the surgeons' professional future is unclear despite their legal victory.

Mr Roberts of Ty Coch, Swansea, remains suspended from his post while Mr Goel of Burnley, Lancashire, no longer works for Llanelli's Carmarthenshire NHS Trust.

Reaction: Mixed response to verdict

During the Cardiff Crown Court trial, the jury heard Mr Roberts had been "devastated" by his realisation of the blunder.

He carried out a second operation on Mr Reeves despite contrary directions from the trust's director, it was said.

Graham Reeves: victim of a "fateful chain of events."

The buck stopped with him, the court heard, but Mr Goel also faced claims of "incompetence."

Both denied the charge and the court also heard Mr Reeves was not visited by nurses prior to surgery due to a staff shortage at Prince Philip Hospital.

But the jury was ordered to return not guilty verdicts when prosecution witness and Home Office pathologist Dr Andrew Davison said he could not be certain that surgery caused the death.

Earlier in the day, he had said it was "probable" the botched operation played a "more than minimal" part in causing the death.

Carmarthenshire NHS Trust extended sympathy to Mr Reeves' loved ones and pointed out two independent audits validated hospital procedures in place during the operation.

Nursing staff had acted properly and safety guidelines have been strengthened further, it added.

Facts: General Medical Council

Burry Port and Pembrey Mayor Pat Jones said: "The only solution to restore public faith is to have a public inquiry so that everyone can be squeaky clean and we have done everything we possibly can to prevent this from ever happening again."

Mr Roberts said in a statement through a solicitor: "It is impossible to turn back the clock.

"But perhaps something positive may come from this tragedy if the publicity attached to it allows other across the country to learn similar lessons for the future."

• Retired pipe lagger Mr Reeves underwent the operation to remove his right kidney after suffering a stone.

• Consultant Mr Roberts was supervising the 24 January, 2000, surgery; registrar Mr Goel performed the extraction.

• Two hours later, they realised his healthy left kidney had been taken when the patient failed to pass water.

• He was moved to Swansea's Morriston Hospital, but developed blood poisoning, requiring the diseased kidney be removed.

• He died on 1 March, five weeks after deteriorating following the original surgery.

Llanelli's Welsh Assembly member Helen Mary Jones sought to reassure people many procedures at the town's hospital had changed.