A former doctor from Oldham who killed a mother-of-three after botching a routine procedure has been jailed for three years.
85-year-old Dr Isyaka Mamman pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court this week over the death of Shahida Parveen, 48 – who died at the Royal Oldham Hospital in 2018 when Dr Mamman had been carrying out a routine appointment to take samples.
Dr Mamman – who was 81 at the time – used the wrong needle for the procedure, and inserted it in the wrong place, which pierced the sac holding Mrs Parveen’s heart.
The court heard Mrs Parveen attended Royal Oldham Hospital on 3 September 2018 to give a bone marrow sample, which is usually taken from the hip bone, but, after failing in his first attempt, Dr Mamman tried to instead take it from her sternum.
This was a “highly dangerous” procedure, the court was told.
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Despite objections from Mrs Parveen and her husband, the court was told Dr Mamman performed the procedure and used the wrong biopsy needle, missed the bone, and pierced her pericardium (the sac containing the heart), which caused massive internal bleeding.
Ms Parveen lost consciousness as soon as the needle was inserted, with her husband running from the room shouting: “He killed her. I told him to stop three times and he did not listen. He killed her.”
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85-year-old Dr Isyaka Mamman pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court / Credit: Google Maps
Before this fatal incident, Dr Mamman had already been suspended for lying about his age, and was subsequently sacked but then re-employed by the hospital, where he was also then responsible for a series of critical incidents before the fatal appointment – including one which had led to another of Mamman’s patients being permanently disabled three years earlier.
Jailing him for three years at Manchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice Yip said the death was his main responsibility, but the hospital trust should have done more after Dr Mamman had lied about his age and botched two earlier similar procedures.
She called the execution of the procedure on Mrs Parveen “grossly incompetent”.
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Following Mrs Paveen’s death, a consultant provided an expert opinion that the procedure had been inappropriately and incompetently performed, and the court heard that at the time, there were no standard operating procedures, guidelines, or local safety standards for taking bone marrow biopsies.
Shahida Parveen, 48, died at the Royal Oldham Hospital in 2018 when Dr Mamman had been carrying out a routine appointment / Credit: Google Maps
Speaking on the outcome of the sentencing, Dr Chris Brookes – Group Chief Doctor and Deputy Chief Executive for the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital – said: “We wish again to offer our sincerest condolences to Mrs Parveen’s family and friends and we are deeply sorry for their loss.
“Following Mrs Parveen’s death in September 2018, the Trust launched a thorough internal investigation to examine the circumstances leading up to and following this tragic incident and The Trust implemented improvements following investigation, which were shared with Mrs Parveen’s family.
“The Trust has admitted liability in relation to a civil claim brought by the family.
“The Trust has liaised closely with Greater Manchester Police throughout their investigation and the subsequent legal proceedings concerning Dr Mamman.”
Featured Image – Greater Manchester Police
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”