Widow accuses consultant of putting his career before his patients at inquest into deaths of 10 he persuaded to undergo experimental cancer treatment
- Coroner is looking at the deaths of 10 patients treated by cancer doctor
- He was accused of using ‘experimental’ methods of some of those he treated
- Widow of one of the men describes two ‘aggressive’ calls he made to her
The widow of a cancer sufferer who died after being treated by a doctor since sacked and suspended over his ‘experimental’ methods said he put his career before her husband.
Graham Stoten, of Reigate, Surrey, is one of 10 patients whose deaths are being examined by a coroner in Sussex after they were treated by Paul Miller.
Mr Miller has been accused of using unorthodox methods to treat patients with bladder and prostate cancers before he was dismissed by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in October 2014.
The widow of a cancer patient who died after he was treated by Paul Miller (pictured) has said the doctor seemed more interested in his career than in her husband’s welfare
Giving evidence at the joint inquest today, Debbie Stoten, Mr Stoten’s widow, said the NHS consultant had angrily reacted to her when she tried to investigate the experimental treatment he suggested for her husband.
She said that Mr Miller called her after she had asked nurses to investigate the ‘photodynamic therapy’ being offered to her husband to treat his bladder cancer.
Mrs Stoten told the coroner: ‘He was very aggressive to me and intimidating in his tone. He said Catherine (the nurse) had accused him of not offering Graham the right treatment and said we thought it was experimental.
-
Doctor and solicitor who won insurance scam for ‘greedy’ car…
Company hired by the NHS emails 300,000 patients to ask if…
Share this article
‘He raised his voice and said sarcastically: “If you want Graham to have a cystectomy (bladder removal), then let’s get on with it”.
‘I felt nervous and foolish and I thought, well he is the consultant, and so I foolishly agreed that he should have the experimental treatment that he recommended.’
Mrs Stoten said Mr Miller had also called her on the day he had been dismissed by the hospital.
She told the inquest: ‘He told me he had just been suspended over the treatment of Graham. He said the hospital would use Graham’s case as a whip to beat him with and asked if I thought that was fair.’
Mr Miller was sacked by East Surrey Hospital in Redhill in 2014. A coroner is now looking into the deaths of 10 patients in his care
She told him that her husband’s condition had worsened and that he was passing blood and in pain.
‘He said, quite flippantly: “Old people can live with that”,’ Mrs Stoten told the coroner.
She added: ‘We were shocked and he was only interested in his career. He didn’t demonstrate any concern for Graham.’
George Hugh Jones QC, representing Mr Miller, said he hadn’t said ‘old people can live with that’.
Mr Jones insisted Mr Miller had been told by the couple that they did not want Mr Stoten to have cystectomy.
Dr Karen Henderson, assistant West Sussex Coroner is also looking at the deaths of Alan Burgess, 72 years, Frederick Le Vallois, 71, Jose Cressy, 76, Keith Reynolds, 68, Leslie Owers, 75, Lilian Cole, 82, Martin Turner, 86, Renfried Avery, 80 and Ian Spurgeon, 85. The patients died between 2004 and 2015.
Mr Miller was dismissed in October 2014 and the General Medical Council suspended his licence to practise medicine the following month. But the watchdog has since lifted the ban, meaning he can practise if he abides by certain conditions – including not treating cancer patients.
It is understood he sometimes works in Los Angeles and Barcelona, and has no plans to return to practise in the UK. However, he still keeps a house here.
The hearing continues.
Source: Read Full Article