Families seek new review over suspended doctor

Lawyers have called for an independent review into the care of more than 200 patients treated by a hospital consultant whose outdated and incorrect advice has been linked to three premature deaths and lasting harm to others.

It follows the suspension of Veronica Varney from practising medicine on an interim basis.

Varney treated people with lung conditions at St Helier Hospital in south London, where she told some patients to avoid the flu jab and rapeseed oil.

She left the trust in 2023 and was referred to the General Medical Council when she stopped treating patients.

The trust asked the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) to examine her treatment of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), an umbrella term for more than 200 conditions that inflame and scar lung tissue.

The RCP report, published last month, looked at 28 cases between 2019 and 2022.

It found Varney frequently recommended off-label treatments and gave advice with no evidence base, including telling patients not to have flu or Covid vaccinations and to avoid rapeseed oil.

Three people died sooner than they otherwise might have because they were not given treatments that could have extended their lives, the review said.

One was told their symptoms were the result of being unfit and was offered dietary advice rather than treatment.

Another 12 patients were left with permanent or long-term harm, and seven missed out on treatment that could have improved their quality of life or spared them further procedures.

Varney told the review she had raised concerns about the side effects of the approved drugs and preferred to try other medicines first. The lung specialist, whose suspension was imposed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, has declined to comment.

The trust said patients with ILD were contacted in 2024 and had their care reviewed by a specialist team of doctors and nurses to ensure they were on the right treatment plan.

After the report, it said that it would further examine the care of another 203 of Varney's ILD patients, work expected to take up to two years.

Solicitors acting for patients want that work handed to independent reviewers rather than be carried out by the trust.

Dr Richard Jennings, group chief medical officer of the trust, said: "The Royal College of Physicians' independent review looked at a sample of patients and made recommendations, all of which we have accepted and acted on – we will now undertake a comprehensive review of the care provided to all patients treated for ILD by this doctor since 2019.

"This will follow the RCP's methods to ensure it is thorough, transparent and clinically robust. We have written to our patients, or their families, to explain this, to offer our sincere apologies for the failings in care described by the RCP, and to invite them to discuss any concerns they may have with us."

Maria Repanos, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: "This review should ultimately be led by external independent experts.

"Families have a right to transparency in respect of the investigation process and to feel reassured that no stone will be left unturned in the review into their cases, or that of their loved ones.

"A review process which is not external, objective and independent cannot offer that reassurance at all. The trust between the hospital and patients has already been broken."

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