Suspended circumcision doctor breaks his silence

A SUSPENDED doctor claims babies are being put at risk because his hospital does not offer circumcisions on the NHS.

Children's surgeon Shiban Ahmed has been suspended on full pay from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire since March after reporting his fears to NHS regulator the Healthcare Commission.

He is barred from speaking publicly about his suspension.

But he last night broke his silence to warn that the absence of a local NHS service is forcing parents to use clinics in the community for the procedure.

The row centres on circumcisions performed for religious reasons and Mr Ahmed says he has had to operate on four boys with distressing and life-threatening complications after procedures in the community.

Parents had paid around £100 for the procedure, which is traditional among Jewish and Muslim communities as well as some Christian groups.

Mr Ahmed, aged 44, revealed they were commonplace in the other NHS hospital where he worked as part of his joint post with the Hartshill hospital.

He has records of around 1,800 baby boys having religious circumcisions in Alder Hay Hospital, in Liverpool, between 2000 and 2007, with 50-plus primary care trusts funding them.

Mr Ahmed, who was appointed in 2007, said: "One of these came from Stoke-on-Trent, so it is hard to understand why the primary care trust (PCT) will allow and pay for referrals to Alder Hay but not pay to set up a service at its local hospital.

"Without that, I have serious concerns that children in North Staffordshire are being put at risk by the procedure being conducted in the community.

"I would like to set up a safe NHS service here, and while that is being arranged I have even offered to carry out the procedures at the hospital on Saturday mornings with my fees donated to the trust.

"But both the hospital and the PCT say they don't wish to commission or provide such a service."

NHS Stoke-on-Trent has said it will not pay for religious circumcisions.

But other childhood operations with no medical benefit are freely available on the NHS – including correcting bat ears, tonsillectomies and a procedure to prevent unsightly navels.

Hospital medical director Robert Courteney-Harris said: "We do not provide this service and have no plans to do so."

Details of Mr Ahmed's suspension emerged after The Sentinel told how toddler Naveed Akram, who is now 18 months, had needed corrective surgery after a circumcision his family claim was botched.

His mother, Faiqa, from Tunstall, pictured, said: "If we are supposed to be a true multi-cultural city then this procedure should be available at our local hospital."