Police launch criminal investigation into death of Ian Paterson patient Joan Green
Police have launched a criminal investigation into the death of Joan Green, a patient treated by jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson, after the West Midlands coroner referred her case.
How it was covered
- ITV was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on the coroner's referral of Joan Green's death to police and Paterson's release.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Police have launched a criminal investigation into the death of Joan Green, a patient treated by jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson, ITV reported. The West Midlands coroner referred Green's case to police after matters arose during preliminary inquiries, according to ITV.
ITV reported that information about Green's death was passed from the coroner to West Midlands Police in August. It said she died in Staffordshire and that police have not disclosed which aspects of her death are being investigated or when she died.
ITV reported that Paterson was given a 20-year sentence for carrying out unnecessary operations in the private sector. The broadcaster said the NHS has also paid out millions of pounds in compensation to patients who received incomplete surgery.
According to ITV, the coroner in Birmingham is examining more than 70 deaths of Paterson patients to establish whether his care contributed to them. It said no conclusions have been reached in more than 72 inquest cases, and that another 100 deaths were being reviewed to see if further inquests were needed. ITV reported that Paterson has been participating in the hearings and giving evidence from prison.
ITV said Paterson is due for release next year after serving half his prison sentence. A petition to prevent his release while the coroner's investigation and the police investigation are completed has received more than 30,000 signatures, according to ITV.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Ian Paterson is due for release next year after serving half his sentence, and an anti-release petition has more than 30,000 signatures. | |
| Police launched a criminal investigation into Joan Green's death but did not disclose which aspects were being investigated or when she died. | |
| The West Midlands coroner referred Joan Green's case to police after matters arose during preliminary inquiries. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 treated the police referral as the most significant development in more than two years of coroner hearings. It tied the criminal investigation to the wider inquest process and to concerns about Paterson's scheduled release, using a measured correspondent segment from Birmingham.
- “police have launched an investigation into the death of a woman who was treated by jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson”
- “information about Joan Green's death was passed from the coroner to West Midlands Police back in August”
- “patients have already started a petition that has received more than 30,000 signatures to prevent his release”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.