ENTER HOSPITAL AT YOUR OWN RISK!

A surgeon who allowed the wrong kidney to be removed from a patient who later died has taken early retirement. Consultant John Gethin Roberts was suspended for 12 months by the General Medical Council for the blunder at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. He has also dropped a planned High Court appeal against his suspension for serious professional misconduct.

The patient, Graham Reeves, died five weeks after the operation in January 2000. Consultant urologist Mr Roberts was the lead surgeon in the operation on Korean War veteran Mr Reeves, who had a diseased right kidney but had his left kidney removed by mistake. The operation was performed by registrar Mahesh Goel, who was also banned from practising for 12 months.

The GMC panel heard the error occurred after Mr Roberts read Mr Reeves' x-rays the wrong way round and concluded his left kidney rather than his right should be removed. The panel determined that Mr Roberts, as the senior medic, "should have known" Mr Reeves was due to have the right kidney removed, as he had seen the patient a month before the operation.

Mr Roberts and Dr Goel were cleared of Graham Reeves' manslaughter at Cardiff Crown Court in June 2002. The prosecution's case collapsed after an expert pathologist told the court he could not be sure Mr Reeves died as a result of the mistake. Mr Roberts had been suspended from his £80,000 per year post at Carmarthenshire NHT Trust since the operation.

A spokesperson for the trust said, "Mr Roberts is no longer employed by Carmarthenshire NHS Trust and has taken early retirement." Mr Goel, who no longer works for Carmarthenshire NHS Trust, returned to India two years ago and was not present at the GMC hearing.