Louis Browne KC and Tim Wilkinson advise on landmark action as new evidence reveals wider failures at NHS Trust

February 4, 2026

Louis Browne KC and Tim Wilkinson from Exchange Chambers are advising Brabners on a landmark legal action relating to harmful cancer treatment by neurosurgeons at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.

Having identified concerns with neurosurgical treatment across the Trust, lawyers from Brabners are now calling on UHCW to proactively contact all potentially affected patients, commit to sharing findings transparently and take decisive action to prevent such failings happening again.

Following the exposure last year of a scandal involving patients who were given unnecessary chemotherapy, new evidence has come to light pointing to a wider pattern of harm across the trust. Brabners is representing more than 30 current and former patients and has uncovered clear evidence of negligence by neurosurgeons in their handling of neuro-oncology cases. Alongside this, investigations into broader failures of care within the trust have also revealed failures by pharmacists to challenge prolonged chemotherapy treatment, leading to devastating, lifelong consequential outcomes for some patients.

Last year, cases at UHCW made national news when it emerged that brain tumour patients were being given the chemotherapy drug, temozolomide (sold under the brand name Temodar), for periods far exceeding recommended guidance. In some cases, patients received the drug for more than a decade, despite guidelines recommending a maximum of twelve months and little evidence of benefit for prolonged use. This regime was promoted as lifesaving, yet the Trust has since confirmed it was neither evidence-based nor aligned with NICE guidance.

Through careful and forensic review of patient records and collaboration with leading experts in their field, Brabners’ ongoing investigation shows that these cases are just the tip of the iceberg. The firm’s work with affected patients has identified a systematic problem with how tumours were treated by the trust’s neurosurgical teams.

Independent expert reviews have identified a pattern of substandard neurosurgical care, including failures to properly discuss treatment alternatives with patients, incomplete tumour removal, delayed tumour removal leading to progression, failure to follow mandatory post-operative scanning protocols and critical delays in recognising and responding to serious complications. In several cases, these delays resulted in preventable strokes, permanent disability and reduced life expectancy. Patients who should have been offered maximal safe resection were instead given biopsies or partial removal. Post-operative deterioration – including seizures, changes in consciousness and unequal pupils – wasn’t escalated with appropriate urgency, leading to avoidable brain injury.

Brabners’ investigations also highlight the failure of pharmacists to challenge or prevent the dispensing of temozolomide far beyond the duration recommended by NICE guidance.

Patients routinely prescribed temozolomide attended monthly clinic appointments at UHCW and were given prescriptions to collect from the hospital pharmacy. Each prescription was checked and signed off by Trust pharmacists before being dispensed, even though many patients had been taking the medication for far longer than guidance recommended – a process that continued, in some cases, for over a decade.

Pharmacists are a critical safeguard in the healthcare system, responsible for identifying prescribing issues and challenging treatments that don’t align with clinical guidance. They’re expected to be familiar with NICE guidance relevant to the medications that they dispense.

Fiona Tinsley, Partner and Head of Clinical Negligence & Serious Injury at Brabners said:

“Brabners was the first firm to identify and investigate these issues and has been fully immersed in the case from the very beginning. Our team has undertaken a detailed and rigorous review of the evidence, working closely with leading independent medical experts and specialist counsel, Louis Browne KC and Tim Wilkinson. Their expertise has been instrumental in analysing complex clinical evidence and identifying systemic failures of care. This is a deeply worrying case involving widespread harm and it demands the highest level of scrutiny, accountability and transparency.”

Added Fiona:

“What began as concerns about chemotherapy in Coventry now points to systemic failings across a number of practice areas in the trust, involving neuro-oncology clinicians, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, clinical nurse specialists and pharmacists at UHCW.

“Multiple regulators are now investigating individual clinicians and the Trust itself, including the General Medical Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Care Quality Commission and The Royal College of Physicians. Reviews have been limited in scope, with no input sought from the affected patients or their families. This cannot be seen as a meaningful exercise in accountability – patients and families have been denied transparency and candour, with the Trust failing to provide honest explanations, apologies or meaningful engagement.

“Without the bravery of so many patients in coming forward, the extent of the failings across this trust might never have been recognised. The human cost has been devastating. People were told they would have months to live without treatment and endured years of debilitating treatment, believing it was keeping them alive. The burden of these failures has been profound. Patients have suffered physical, psychological and financial harm, including loss of career, fertility and quality of life.

“For many there is also no end in sight, with some patients becoming infertile and going into early menopause and one developing secondary leukaemia requiring a stem cell transplant. All patients involved have also been placed at increased risk of secondary cancers. These patients deserve answers and assurance that the NHS has learned from this, so it never happens again.

“We are calling on UHCW to proactively identify and contact every patient who may have been affected, to commit to sharing findings transparently and to take clear, meaningful action to ensure this never happens again. These patients deserve answers, accountability and assurance that every lesson is being learned. This is in the public interest.”