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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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”.
ADVERTISEMENT
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
News
Greater Manchester officially launches five-year climate change action plan
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has officially begun its five-year climate change action plan, with the overarching goal of becoming a net-zero city region by 2038.
The comprehensive pledge put together over a number of years itself will see Manchester City Council and the nearby local authorities put into action a number of key measures that will help to reduce not only central carbon figures but, eventually, across the 10 boroughs in turn.
Over the last 15 years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 64%, saving an estimated 44,344 tonnes of carbon through cleaner building energy, street lighting and other electronics, as well as the increasingly green and over-growing Bee Network.
They have also insisted that it isn’t just about cutting down on greenhouse gases; the aim is to make the city region and the surrounding areas more sustainable, affordable and create a better standard of life.
Our five-year plan to tackle climate change launches today. 🌏
It details how we’ll continue to deliver dramatic reductions in the amount of carbon we emit (the biggest contributor to climate change). 🏙️
As per the summary on the Council website, in addition to creating more efficient homes, they’re hoping to provide more access to nature and good-quality green space, “public transport you can rely on”, and “better health and wellbeing for those who live, work, study and visit here.”
With a steadily recovering local and national economy (touch wood), they’re also hoping for an influx of new jobs, too.
Summarising the key bullet points leading up to the end of the decade, these are the next steps currently outlined by the Council:
Lower carbon emissions
Grow the use of renewable energy
Improve low-carbon travel in the city
Improve air quality
Grow the city’s natural environment and boost biodiversity
Improve resilience to flooding and extreme heat
Engage and involve our workforce and our city’s communities
Reduce waste and grow reuse, repair, sharing and recycling
Support a move to a more circular economy
Minimise the negative impact of events held in the city
Develop our knowledge of our indirect emissions and lower them
Create a green financing strategy and explore new funding models for the city
Influence the environmental practices of other organisations
As for emissions, the target is now to drop the present output by another 34%, which will prevent almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Having touched upon the continued expansion of the Bee Network infrastructure, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also set to install multiple new travel links over the coming years, including both new tram stops and train stations – further
You can read the climate action plan in full HERE.
Manchester’s firework displays are ‘back with a bang’ as they return from 2026
Emily Sergeant
Council-organised firework displays in Manchester’s parks are set to return from next year, it has been confirmed.
You may remember that these once-popular events have not been held since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic initially prevented them from taking place from 2020 onwards, and then following that, they remained paused on a trial basis while the Manchester City Council sought to ‘reprioritise funding’ to support a wider range of free community events across the city.
But now, as it seems, the door was never shut on their potential return.
An ‘improved financial position’ now means that the Council is in a position to bring firework events back, while also still continuing to support other community events.
Papers setting out the Council’s financial position show that fairer funding being introduced by the Government next year will leave the Council better off than previously anticipated, he the reason firework displays have been brought back into the mix.
The Council has admitted that ‘pressures remain’ after so many years of financial cuts, but this new funding creates the opportunity to invest in the things residents have said matter the most to them.
“Manchester prides itself on free community events and we know many people have missed Bonfire night firework spectaculars,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“That’s why we are pleased to confirm they’ll be back by popular demand in 2026.
“We know that generations of Mancunians have enjoyed Council-organised displays and that free family events are a great way to bring people together… [and] now that this Government is actually investing in Councils like ours rather than the cuts we had since 2010, we can bring back Bonfire events.”
The Manc -
5th July 2022 
