A surgeon involved in an inquiry into how four patients died from infection has stopped operating

A surgeon at the centre of an inquiry into how four of his patients died after contracting an infection while under his knife has stopped operating, an NHS trust has said.

The patients died earlier this year after contracting a rare bacterial infection at Nottingham's City Hospital during heart valve operations.

Another eight people were left seriously ill with the infection. Five of those patients are continuing to receive treatment.

Initially, health chiefs contacted 94 other patients, fearing they could be ill too. It is understood the infection could have been spread by the surgeon as he is the common factor in all of the 12 cases.

The surgeon has now agreed to stop operating but continues to work in the hospital.

The decision was made after worried patients quizzed staff at the hospital about the chances of coming into contact with the same bacteria. Those who died were between their early 60s and late 80s.

Dr Stephen Fowlie, medical director at the trust, said: "The surgeon agreed with us that he should stop doing valve operations as soon as we knew about the group of infections.

"I would like to stress that our continuing investigation has found no shortcomings in the surgeon's practice or standards.

"That said, given the understandable high level of concern among patients due to come in for heart operations, the hospital and the surgeon have now agreed that he will stop doing any operations until the anxieties of patients and relatives can be completely allayed and our investigation has been completed.

"The surgeon will resume operating only when we have re-established the necessary confidence of patients and families."