They called me Dr Death - now I want to restore my good name: Top surgeon who was jailed alongside murderers when hospital buried evidence to support his case reveals his agony as he is finally cleared of killing a patient

I had tried to organize myself mentally, however I had no bag. I wasn't suitably dressed: I used to be in a swimsuit. And now I used to be locked in a tiny cubicle, being hurled back and forth because the van lurched round corners. I felt sick, each bodily and psychologically.

'In the event you handled animals the way in which we deal with prisoners on their solution to jail, animal rights teams can be incensed. And this was solely the start.'

Advisor surgeon David Sellu is describing the worst day of his life – November 5, 2013 – when he was transported to Belmarsh in London, one in every of Britain's hardest high-security jails, to begin a two-and-a-half-year sentence for killing a affected person in his care.

David Sellu (pictured together with his spouse Catherine) was convicted of manslaughter in 2013 over the demise his affected person James Hughes and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail

His exemplary 40-year profession, his skilled and social standing, his household's monetary safety – all had been worn out by the Previous Bailey jury's verdict that Mr Sellu was responsible of gross negligence manslaughter in inflicting the demise of James Hughes, 66.

Final week, 16 months after this newspaper uncovered how very important proof that may have cleared Mr Sellu was hidden from his trial, the Courtroom of Attraction quashed his conviction. However the harm is finished. His profession is in tatters. His repute ruined. And the 'completely degrading' trauma of being locked up 22 hours a day in a jail containing rapists and murderers has taken a heavy toll.

His story is a surprising indictment of the 'blame tradition' afflicting Britain's hospitals, which is seeing growing numbers of healthcare employees thrown to the authorized wolves – with probably devastating penalties for sufferers. It additionally chillingly illustrates how straightforward it's for a public-spirited skilled to seek out himself on the fallacious aspect of the legislation.

'I really feel no jubilation, solely a bit aid,' says Mr Sellu, 69, talking completely to The Mail on Sunday at his West London house. Courteous and softly spoken as he recollects his lengthy ordeal, he shudders, often rubbing his eyes to cover his tears.

'I nonetheless can't sleep correctly. I'm on beta-blockers to cease my coronary heart racing. And I really feel like a pariah. I've had to deal with headlines that known as me "Physician Dying" and "Killer Surgeon". That doesn't go away. The Crown Prosecution Service is aware of they made a hash of this case. My hope now could be that they may suppose twice earlier than attempting to criminalise others working in healthcare.'

Mr Sellu's journey to the highest of Britain's medical occupation started in a poor village in Sierra Leone. He's the eldest of ten youngsters, born to rice-farmer dad and mom who had no training. His probability got here when his barely wealthier aunt, who lived in Bo, the closest city, supplied to pay for him to go to highschool there and put him up.

'It was a superb college and I received good grades. Ultimately, I received a nationwide scholarship to check in England,' Mr Sellu says. He entered Manchester College medical college in 1968.

As soon as he certified, his progress was assured. He took up successive posts in Manchester, London and Southampton. In 1981, he married Catherine, an intensive care nurse he met at Hammersmith Hospital in London. The couple have 4 youngsters.

Mr Sellu labored for the Clementine Churchill in Harrow, owned by healthcare big BMI. A damning report, which could have cleared the surgeon was hidden by senior BMI workers

Mr Sellu's repute as a meticulous, unflappable surgeon steadily grew, and in 1993 he was headhunted to turn into an NHS colorectal marketing consultant at Ealing Hospital. Later he additionally labored part-time on the non-public hospital the place Mr Hughes died – the Clementine Churchill in Harrow, owned by healthcare big BMI. He has additionally spent months as a volunteer surgeon within the nation of his delivery.

When the police began investigating Mr Sellu, they combed by way of his report, trying to find proof that the demise price amongst his sufferers was abnormally excessive. There was none, and plenty of colleagues gave glowing testimonials about his talent and expertise.

Mr Sellu first noticed Mr Hughes – a constructing agency boss from Northern Eire – on February 11, 2010. 5 days earlier, Mr Hughes had been given a alternative knee, however had developed worsening ache in his stomach. Mr Sellu agreed to see him as a favour to the surgeon who did the knee op – largely as a result of, at a personal hospital at evening, there was nobody else, aside from the extra junior resident medical officer. The junior physician thought Mr Hughes had cramp, and had given him muscle relaxants. Mr Hughes was in agony: clearly they weren't working.

In actual fact, Mr Hughes had a perforated bowel – a life-threatening situation. However Mr Sellu was not in a position to function till the early hours of February 13. By this time, Mr Hughes was important, and by no means recovered consciousness. 'I'm nonetheless very sorry for his household,' Mr Sellu says. 'They misplaced a husband and a father. I've analysed what occurred a thousand occasions, and with the advantage of hindsight, there are issues I'd do in a different way. However there have been causes for the delay in working that had completely nothing to do with me – for instance, there was no rota for emergency anaesthetists.'

It was not till after Mr Sellu was convicted that the hospital despatched an electronic mail to its docs suggesting a rota be fashioned.

An inquest into Mr Hughes's demise opened in October 2010, however the coroner rapidly halted it, and ordered police to start a felony investigation of Mr Sellu.

The marketing consultant discovered himself being interrogated hour after hour, being requested repeatedly concerning the tiniest particulars of the case. 'They had been in search of discrepancies, attempting to journey me up, so they might say I used to be a liar,' Mr Sellu says. 'That they had against the law and a suspect, and so they had been attempting to show their case.'

However as this newspaper revealed final yr, all this time an important doc was hidden: a secret report by senior BMI workers compiled after Mr Hughes's demise. This so-called 'root trigger evaluation' discovered there have been 'insufficient' procedures on the hospital when routine instances turned emergencies, delays in getting scans, X-rays and an anaesthetist, and a failure to watch Mr Hughes's situation.

After his trial, November 5, 2013 Mr Sullu was transported to Belmarsh in London, one in every of Britain's hardest high-security jails

Mr Sellu was charged with manslaughter. He may now not work, even within the NHS. 'Think about, you've been working all of your life, and all of a sudden your wage is stopped, and also you're instructed you'll have dedicated a felony act,' he says.

In 2012, his six-week trial started. The key report was by no means proven to the jury. In keeping with the prosecution, Mr Hughes died due to Mr Sellu's 'laid-back' angle. The jury deliberated for greater than three days. When it got here to sentencing, Mr Sellu says: 'I felt go on my wrist. I appeared up at my household. There was plenty of sobbing, however they had been attempting to make encouraging gestures.

'I used to be taken right down to the cells, and my barrister gave me a pep discuss, saying I had nothing to fret about and would quickly be in an open jail. After which they took me to Belmarsh.' There was additional humiliation to return: a protracted wait to be processed, and a strip search. 'It was completely degrading,' admits Mr Sellu.

Lastly, he was taken to a cell with three different prisoners and two units of bunks, with nearly no house between them. The shared rest room was open – 'the stench was the very first thing I observed' – and so they had been locked within the cell for 22 hours a day.

Mr Sellu says: 'I used to be attempting to remain sturdy as a result of my household had been going by way of hell too. However I used to be on the highest bunk, freezing, with one tiny blanket. The mattress was very slim, and each motion by the man on the underside mattress was magnified. I barely slept in any respect.

'All through my profession I made life-and-death choices, and now each side of my life – once I may wash, what I may eat – was managed by another person. I used to be terrified. I had been warned to not let different inmates know I used to be a physician, as a result of they could have assumed I used to be some sort of Harold Shipman [the serial-killer GP who murdered more than 200 patients] and sought retribution.

'I used to be in a tiny house with three strangers, with one panic button by the door. My household couldn't ship books. All I may do 22 hours a day was sit on my bunk, legs dangling, or attempt to sleep.'

Final week, the Courtroom of Attraction mentioned the trial decide failed to inform the jury how solely really distinctive negligence may rank as manslaughter. Instances of healthcare employees being accused of felony conduct are growing, with at the least three convicted prior to now two years

After a month, Mr Sellu was moved to Highpoint, a high-security jail in Suffolk, the place situations had been higher, and at last, within the months earlier than his eventual launch in 2015, to an open jail. He served a complete of 15 months. However even after being freed, his life was in limbo: 'I felt ashamed to stroll previous my neighbours. And, after all, I couldn't work.'

Final week, the Courtroom of Attraction mentioned the trial decide failed to inform the jury how solely really distinctive negligence may rank as manslaughter, and the way they could decide whether or not this had occurred. But instances of healthcare employees being accused of felony conduct are growing, with at the least three convicted prior to now two years.

Mr Sellu says two issues helped carry his morale after being convicted. One was this newspaper's investigation, and the opposite was a marketing campaign chaired by his Ealing colleague Jenny Vaughan, a marketing consultant neurologist. Dr Vaughan's petition gathered three,000 signatures, many from prime docs and former sufferers.

Dr Vaughan says: 'In fact we're happy with the choice. However as a physician, I'm keen on what makes sufferers safer, in order that classes are realized. The specter of felony fees solely promotes cover-ups.'

Mr Sellu highlights one other hazard: 'The potential consequence of my prosecution is that in instances the place a affected person might die, a surgeon would possibly stroll away relatively than function – as a result of that might be safer for the physician.

'Some sufferers who would possibly dwell will lose their probability of survival.'

Mr Sellu nonetheless has to face the Common Medical Council. However regardless of his attraction victory, his need to practise his hard-won abilities has gone. 'Generally I consider the sufferers I may have handled whereas I used to be in jail. However I don't need to return to surgical procedure. I'd love to do some educating, some writing and analysis.

'Above all, I'd like to revive my good identify.'

Tweet