Surgeon bone collecting allegations 'creepy', says former patient

Jaimie Ramsay said the possibility that Derek McMinn could have kept her bone made her feel uncomfortable.

Dr McMinn is being investigated over claims he kept the bones of more than 5,000 patients he operated on at Edgbaston Hospital in Birmingham, including at his farmhouse in Clent, near Stourbridge.

Several former patients have spoken out in support of the under-fire surgeon but Mrs Ramsay, 43, from Telford said the claims were "upsetting". She initially underwent Dr McMinn's pioneering hip resurfacing treatment before needing a full hip replacement in 2014.

Mrs Ramsay said: "I just feel really angry, he was so 'everything has to be done properly'.

"I asked him if I could keep the metal as a souvenir as what I'd gone through but I was told it was attached to the bone and very important, all the bones and pieces have to go off for research. Did the bone go off for research or did he keep it?"

It's alleged Dr McMinn collected bone and tissue samples from patients without permission over 25 years.

And Mrs Ramsay said she would be "upset" to think the surgeon had kept her bone.

"For another person to keep hold of it is creepy," she said. "It makes me shiver to think another person has kept hold of it.

"If he was doing it for the purposes of research then why did he need to take it home? Has it been out for parties when his friends have been over or has it been locked away?"

BMI Healthcare, which runs the hospital, has set up a helpline for patients potentially affected.

Circle Health Group, which acquired BMI Healthcare in June this year, said the hospital is now under new leadership and that it was taking the issues “incredibly seriously”.

Several former patients have contacted the Express & Star in support of Dr McMinn, stating his groundbreaking procedure, which was used on tennis legend Sir Andy Murray, helped them maintain a normal way of life.