INQUESTS into the deaths of 10 more patients of convicted breast surgeon Ian Paterson have been opened.
Judge Richard Foster, the coroner, said he believes there is evidence to have reason to suspect that some of those deaths may be unnatural.
A total of 48 deaths have been opened so far since Judge Foster and his team reviewed 417 cases of former patients where breast cancer had been listed as a cause of death in part one of the death certificate.
A statement on behalf of the coroner’s investigation said the inquest were opened and adjourned on Friday (October 6).
It added: “The inquests will be adjourned and it is anticipated that a pre inquest review hearing will be listed for late 2023 / early 2024.
“Final hearings are expected to begin in late 2024.”
The next of kin of former patients of Paterson have been asked to come forward and contact the solicitors to the inquest via the coroner’s Paerson investigation website at www.coronerspatersoninvestigation.org.
Paterson is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence after being convicted in 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding against ten patients.
The consultant breast surgeon, whose victims run into the hundreds, worked at hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Trust (HEFT) and also practiced privately at Bupa hospitals in Solihull and Sutton Coldfield, latterly run by Spire Healthcare.
