Addenbrooke’s surgery left girl non-verbal and in a wheelchair

“My daughter walked into an Addenbrooke's conversation and was wheeled out non-verbally.”

A mother is demanding “accountability” from Cambridge University Hospital (CUH) NHS Trust after two botched operations in 2018 left her daughter with life-changing injuries.

The procedures were carried out by consultant surgeon Kuldeep Stohr, who continued to practice at Addenbrooke's Hospital until 2024, despite concerns raised back in 2015.

The Verita report, commissioned by CUH, found “a number of missed opportunities” to act on the warnings. The foundation accepted the findings and apologized, adding that changes had already begun.

Natasha's daughter, Niv, was born with positional clubfoot, a condition that causes the foot to turn inward.

She could jump, skip, walk and dance, but had difficulty running, and at age 11 she had surgery to improve her mobility.

“That was probably the last time she came up and called me mom,” Natasha said of the operation, which she called “a complete failure.”

“She'll never walk again.”

Niv, now 18, suffers from spinal curvature, muscle atrophy, scar tissue and foot deformities, Natasha added.

“I really blamed myself for agreeing to the operation,” she said.

A separate review is currently ongoing, examining around 700 planned and 100 emergency operations involving Ms Stohr, some of which were carried out on adults.

Verita Report concluded that earlier action by CUH could have reduced harm.

One of the “key missed opportunities” was CUH's failure to respond to an external review of the surgeon's performance in 2016, the report said.

However, Natasha criticized the report as “horrific”, adding that it was more focused on protecting the hospital's reputation than answering questions or holding anyone accountable.

“[It] doesn’t really answer any questions or hold anyone accountable,” she said.

“I don’t feel like I can trust what this report is telling me.”

Retired lawyer Rudd Seiger, representing 25 affected families, said: “This was not a rogue surgeon – it was a fraudulent system.”

He called for a judge-led public inquiry and the resignation of CUH chief executive Roland Sinker.

Mr Sinker told BBC Look East he would do so. don't resignsaying the trust is moving forward with plans to “put patients at the heart” of future services.

In a separate statement, he said he was “sorry” to hear Neave's story and promised to meet with patients to hear their feedback.

“This should not have happened and we are determined to make changes to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

The Care Quality Commission examined the findings to determine whether regulatory action was needed.