A doctor who killed a mum during a hospital procedure had left another patient permanently disabled three years earlier while carrying out the same test. Married mum-of-three Shahida Parveen died at the age of 48 after attending the Royal Oldham hospital for a bone marrow biopsy.
Dr Isyaka Mamman, now 85, carried out a 'highly dangerous procedure' on Mrs Parveen, instead of the conventional technique, even as she and her husband 'begged' him to stop and she 'screamed' in pain. The doctor, aged 81 at the time, had tried to take a sample from the hip bone, but was unsuccessful and instead took a sample from her sternum.
Prosecutors said it was a 'highly dangerous' procedure rarely used in the UK. Mrs Parveen objected as the doctor asked her to roll onto her back.
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She submitted after Dr Mamman reassured her that he had 40 years of experience, Manchester Crown Court heard.
He inserted the biopsy needle but missed the sternum 'altogether', and caused a fatal puncture wound to the pericardium which encloses the heart. After Mrs Parveen collapsed, her husband came running out of the room shouting: "He killed her! I told him to stop three times and he did not listen. He killed her."
Three years earlier, Dr Mamman carried out the same procedure on a 64-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest the same day. He survived but was left permanently disabled and suffering with mobility problems. And another patient who complained about Dr Mamman was allegedly told by a consultant that the doctor would 'only be doing light duties from now on'.
Dr Mamman's barrister claimed there was a 'catalogue of failings' by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, and is now named the Northern Care Alliance. Dr Mamman, who had previously been suspended for 12 months for lying about his age, was warned to expect jail when he is sentenced tomorrow.
"She was young and well, she had no problems when she died," Mrs Parveen's devastated husband Khizar Mahmood said. "Every day I relive that day in the hospital, her name being called, going into the room, the way the doctor spoke to us and when he didn't listen to us both telling him to leave it.
"She was everything to me and our three sons." The court heard that Dr Mamman was born in Okene, Nigeria, and has been a qualified doctor since 1965, working full time in the UK since 1991.
He was employed by Pennine Acute since 2004 as a specialty doctor in the haematology department. One of his 'regular' duties was to conduct bone marrow samples for biopsy.
The doctor does not have a birth certificate, and he has provided different date of births during his career. In the early 2000s Dr Mamman applied to become a British citizen and claimed he'd been born in 1947, which would have meant he would have started his degree course aged ten, prosecutor Andrew Thomas QC said.
After this was discovered, Dr Mamman was suspended for 12 months in 2004 by the General Medical Council. Pennine Acute sacked the doctor, but following the year long suspension and a 'restoration hearing', the Trust employed him again in his previous role.
At the hearing it was 'agreed' that the doctor had been born in 1943, which would have made him 63. The law at the time, which has now been rescinded, forced doctors to retire aged 65.
Dr Mamman now accepts he was actually born in 1936. The judge, Mrs Justice Yip, described the decision at the meeting as 'astonishing', adding: "It appears there was further dishonesty in 2006 I'm afraid."
As well as issues regarding his age, Dr Mamman's competence has a doctor had been called into question prior to the killing of Mrs Parveen. Before he joined Pennine Acute, he had left his previous job with the Medway Trust in Kent due to 'poor performance'.
In 2015 a female patient of Dr Mamman made a formal complaint after she was left in 'considerable pain' when he had used 'excessive force' while conducting a bone marrow biopsy. The patient claimed she was told that colleagues thought Dr Mamman should retire due to his age, but that they 'could not dismiss him purely because of his age'.
She said she was told that the doctor would 'only be doing light duties from now on' and that he 'would not be performing any more procedures'. But that same year Dr Mamman carried out another 'routine' bone marrow biopsy which led to a 64-year-old man suffering a cardiac arrest.
He was left permanently disabled as a result of the 'heavy handed' procedure, after the biopsy needle caused bleeding into his pelvic area. The Trust later admitted liability when the patient brought a claim for damages for clinical negligence, the court heard.
The Trust settled after the death of Mrs Parveen, who attended the hospital on September 3, 2018. She'd been referred for a bone marrow biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of a potential myeloproliferative disorder, which causes blood cells to grow abnormally.
Mr Mahmood remained with his wife as Dr Mamman, described by his own lawyer as being a 'failing doctor' at the time, worked alone. She had given her consent to him gaining a sample using the 'conventional' approach from the hip bone.
But Dr Mamman could not get a sample and instead tried via the sternum, which prosecutors described as 'rare' and 'dangerous' procedure given its proximity to the heart. He did not seek to gain Mrs Parveen's consent before carrying out the procedure, the court heard.
She objected but submitted after Dr Mamman reassured her of his experience. After 'several' attempts Dr Mamman inserted the biopsy needle but missed the sternum, causing a fatal puncture wound.
Mrs Parveen lost consciousness as the needle was inserted. Soon after, her husband begged a nurse for help, telling her: "Help me please. I told the doctor to stop. He wouldn’t listen.
"My wife was screaming in pain. He asked her twice if he should carry on and she screamed ‘stop’. She was crying in pain.
"I begged him to stop but he said 'don’t worry'. I said 'please get another doctor, this isn’t right', but he got no-one.
"He carried on forcefully putting the screwdriver (needle) inside her chest. I told him to stop but he wouldn’t listen. Please, he’s done something wrong with my wife. There was blood everywhere, all around her neck and on the sheets. This test has cost her her life."
She regained consciousness but was pronounced dead at 12.38pm that day. The cause of death was registered as 'cardiac tamponade', the building up of extra fluids causing pressure on the heart, caused as a result of the needle.
Prosecutors said the procedure used by Dr Mamman can be carried out in appropriate circumstances but that his conduct was grossly negligent. Mr Thomas said the doctor made a 'hasty' decision without support from other medical staff, and didn't properly understand the risks involved.
Dr Mamman also used the wrong type of needle and didn't gain Mrs Parveen's consent. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence.
Defending, Michael Hayton QC said Dr Mamman has 'devoted his life to the care and trea
tment of others over very many years' over a 'largely successful' career'. "This defendant has been profoundly affected by his actions, the loss of life caused by his negligence," he said.
"It is something he deeply regrets." Mr Hayton claimed that Mrs Parveen had been failed by the Trust as well as Dr Mamman, alleging a 'catalogue of failings' between 2015 and 2018 in relation to the doctor.
"While Mrs Parveen has been terribly failed by this doctor's negligent treatment, she was also, with great respect to the Trust as it is now, terribly failed by Trust in a number of ways."
"He (Dr Mamman) should never have been allowed to be in he position that he was." Mr Thomas added: "The prosecution acknowledge that at the time of the fatal incident the defendant’s employer was aware of issues relating to his professional competence but had nonetheless allowed him to continue to work and without nursing or other support."
Dr Mamman, of Cumberland Drive, Royton, Oldham, was granted bail overnight, but the judge warned him to expect a prison sentence.
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