A HEART and lung surgeon at Southampton General Hospital has been cleared following an investigation into his clinical competence.

The internal probe was launched into Narendra Bhatnagar after one of his colleagues expressed concern about his clinical judgement to hospital bosses.

He was also investigated at a hospital in Plymouth five years ago and made redundant after GPs refused to refer their patients to him.

A spokesman for Southampton University Hospitals Trust, Peter Campion, said: "One of his colleagues raised concerns about aspects of his clinical practice and, as is always the case, he was suspended while those concerns were investigated.

"The investigation found that there were no concerns over his clinical practice and the suspension was lifted."

The Southampton investigation into Mr Bhatnagar studied the number of operations he had carried out and the number of subsequent deaths.

Mr Campion said: "He has carried out 98 thoracic lung operations, of which none of the patients have died. That is a very good record for a teaching hospital which sees a lot of complex cases.

"He has had 87 cardiac patients of whom four have died. That is well within national averages - there isn't a problem on that clinical performance."

Mr Bhatnagar was made redundant by Plymouth's Derriford Hospital in August 1995. He then worked at other hospitals before starting a six-month contract in Southampton.

That contract was due to run out this month, but has been extended until the end of November.

In a statement released soon after he left Plymouth in 1996, his former employers - the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust - said: "During the two year period before the trust took the decision to make Mr Bhatnagar redundant, a number of issues concerning his clinical competence had been raised. It appears that these concerns may well have influenced his consultant colleagues and local purchasers in their decision not to refer patients to him.

"A number of informal investigations were undertaken but did not prove conclusive as local opinion on this matter was divided."

It is understood that Mr Bhatnagar will be questioned by the General Medical Council later this year on matters arising out of his time at Plymouth.

Mick Rolfe, of the patients' watchdog the community health council, said: "We have been assured by the trust that patient care in this area is safe and that they will ensure that a high quality of patient care is maintained."

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