A consultant gynaecologist was sacked after she fell out with senior managers while trying to expose bungled surgery, a BBC Radio 4 programme has exclusively revealed.

Feyi Awotona, 47, confronted a surgeon at South Tyneside District Hospital about the high post operative complication rate of his female cancer patients.

Another senior doctor at the hospital told File on 4 it was common knowledge dozens of the surgeon's patients suffered unnecessary complications.

But an employment tribunal found that Dr Awotona's trust had used unfair disciplinary procedures to sack her, rather than deal with her allegations.

The patients bled excessively and were transfused, many organs were damaged and they were in a lot of pain

Dr Feyi Awotona

Dr Awotona said she had felt obliged to act in line with the General Medical Council's code of conduct which requires medics to protect patients from the risk of harm posed by another doctor.

But the surgeon in question, Peter Robson, was then a medical director, the most senior clinician at the hospital.

"Mr Robson wasn't adequately trained or able to do those cases," said Dr Awotona.

Treated for cataracts

"They had to come back a second time to put right what was done wrong. The patients bled excessively and were transfused, many organs were damaged and they were in a lot of pain."

The Nigerian-born doctor, who came to Tyneside in 1995 after working in large London teaching hospitals, said she was told it was "unethical" and "not her responsibility" to look into the performance of her colleagues.

"I was in the hospital for four years. Over that period of time some of my colleagues chose to give the explanation Mr Robson had cataracts, and that he didn't know that.

"They also said he was taking on cases no-one else would so high complication rates were to be expected."

Peter Robson did have treatment for cataracts but continued to operate. He later resigned and has since died.

Promotion 'blocked'

Another senior doctor at Tyneside Hospital told File on 4 it was common knowledge that at that time Peter Robson's surgery was poor.

The doctor, who did not want to be named for fear of disciplinary action, confirmed it was known dozens of Mr Robson's patient's suffered serious and unnecessary complications.

But Dr Awotona suspected her attempts to resolve the issue blocked her chances of promotion.

She claimed Peter Robson told her there was a limit to what she could achieve because she was a woman and black.

'Deeply disturbed'

She threatened legal action for racial discrimination, but then found herself subject to disciplinary proceedings and was sacked in 1998.

Her case took four years to come to an employment tribunal which found she was in fact victimised by racial discrimination.

It also found she had been unfairly dismissed by the hospital trust to avoid an investigation into her allegations over Mr Robson's surgical abilities.

South Tyneside healthcare NHS Trust declined to be interviewed but said they were "deeply disturbed" about the allegations.

File on 4's investigation into NHS whistleblowers is on BBC Radio 4 on 23 July at 2000 BST and streamed live from the website.