A doctor who killed a mother-of-three after a botched routine procedure has been jailed for three years.
Dr Isyaka Maman, 85, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after Shahida Parveen, 48, died in 2018 at the Royal Oldham Hospital.
He was performing a routine sampling appointment but used the wrong needle, inserting it in the wrong place, puncturing the sac holding Ms Parveen’s heart.
Maman, who was 81 at the time, had already been suspended for lying about his age.
He was fired but then reassigned to the hospital, where he was responsible for a series of critical incidents before the fatal assignment.
Jailing him for three years at Manchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice Ip said the death was his primary responsibility but the hospital trust should have done more after Dr Maman lied about his age and failed two earlier similar procedures, harming patients.
She called Ms Parveen’s performance of the procedure “grossly incompetent”.
Dr Isyaka Mamman Credit: MEN Media
Ms. Parveen went to the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy and was told that the routine procedure was assigned to Mamman, who works as a doctor specializing in hematology.
Bone marrow samples are usually taken from the hip bone, but Mamman failed to get a sample on the first try.
Instead, he tried a rare and “very dangerous” procedure to take a sample of Ms Parveen’s breast – despite objections from her and her husband.
Mamman, using the wrong biopsy needle, missed the bone and pierced her pericardium, the sac containing the heart, causing massive internal bleeding.
Mrs. Parveen lost consciousness as soon as the needle was inserted and her husband ran out of the room shouting, “He killed her. I told him to stop three times and he didn’t listen. He killed her.”
After her death, a consultant gave an expert opinion that the procedure was performed incorrectly and incompetently.
The court heard that at the time of Ms Parveen’s death, there were no standard operating procedures, guidelines or local safety standards for taking a bone marrow biopsy.
Three years before Ms Parveen died, Mamman had performed the same procedure on a 64-year-old man who had suffered a cardiac arrest. He survived but was left permanently disabled.
In sentencing, Mrs Justice Ip said the mother-of-three “had been badly disappointed” and a custodial sentence was “inevitable”.
Dr Chris Brooks, Group Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital, said: “We would like to again offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Ms Parveen and we are deeply sorry for their loss.
“We would like to reiterate our sincere apologies previously extended to Ms. Parveen’s family. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to them.
“Following the death of Ms Parveen in September 2018, the Trust launched a thorough internal investigation to examine the circumstances leading up to and following this tragic incident. The trust implemented improvements following an investigation, which were shared with Ms Parveen’s family.
“The trust admitted liability in relation to a civil claim brought by the family.
“The trust has liaised closely with Greater Manchester Police throughout their investigation and subsequent legal proceedings regarding Dr Maman.”
Oldham MP Jim McMahon said: “This is a very worrying tragedy, my thoughts are with the family affected and we need to find out why the Trust did not do more.
“To inspire trust, a hospital needs to be open and transparent and forthcoming when mistakes are made.
“Regarding this and the previous IT failure, it is clear that more can be done to be proactive in communicating with the public about issues that arise.”
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