Three patients died and at least 12 more suffered permanent harm while under the care of a south London hospital consultant who routinely gave outdated and incorrect medical advice, a review has concluded.
Dr Veronica Varney, a respiratory consultant at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, withheld proven treatments for patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), instead recommending therapies with no scientific basis, according to an investigation by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). The review, commissioned by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, identified 216 patients directly impacted by her care.
“Three died and many were severely harmed by Dr Veronica Varney's outdated advice at St Helier Hospital.”
The trust found that Varney acted unilaterally and failed to refer 42% of her ILD patients to the specialist multidisciplinary team. Around 30% received no treatment at all for their lung disease, and 20% of cases were not adequately investigated diagnostically.
In one case, a patient experienced a two-year delay before receiving immunosuppressive treatment. By the time appropriate therapy was started, complications had already developed. Another patient was told their symptoms were due to poor fitness and given dietary advice instead of treatment. A third was not referred to a specialist ILD meeting for a year, leading to "missed opportunities for earlier intervention".
The report stated that "delays to or deviations from guidelines-based care potentially contributed to the patients' irreversible lung damage, poor quality of life or premature death". Out of 28 cases examined, 12 caused "severe clinical harm" (permanent or long term), seven resulted in "moderate clinical harm" (short term), and one was "low clinical harm". Three were graded as "death", meaning the patient could not access treatments that might have extended their life.
Varney also gave unsupported advice, including recommending patients avoid the flu or Covid-19 vaccine and avoid rapeseed oil. The trust found frequent inconsistencies in how medical histories were recorded, delays in referrals, and errors in reporting diagnostic results.
Varney was referred to as Dr 'X' in the report. The trust has not said whether she remains employed at the hospital or what disciplinary action has been taken.