A DOCTOR at the centre of a breast screening scandal in which 11 women died is facing a High Court battle over the death of a 52-year-old South Devon dad.

Eight years ago Dr Graham Urquhart (pictured), from Churston Ferrers, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council.

He and a colleague were disciplined for a series of x-ray cancer screening blunders between 1991 and 1997 when 82 women were wrongly given the all-clear. Eleven later died.

Now Dr Urquhart is named in a High Court writ by Mrs Lynn Biddick, who is suing Torbay Hospital for £300,000 damages following the death of her husband, Martin.

The writ claims Dr Urquhart failed to diagnose in an x-ray that Mr Biddick, from Chudleigh, was suffering from the early stages of lung cancer.

The General Medical Council has confirmed to the Herald Express that Dr Urquhart was suspended in 2009 pending an investigation.

The GMC said he is no longer registered to practise. He has since taken early retirement.

Mr Biddick died in September last year after suffering four years of chronic ill-health.

In August 2005 Dr Urquhart gave him the all-clear after inspecting a chest x-ray.

Widow Mrs Biddick has now issued the civil claim in the London High Court, alleging South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was negligent in dealing with her husband's illness.

She wants damages for the 'negligent reporting of a chest x-ray examination performed on her late husband in 2005'.

Dr Urquhart is alleged to have inspected the x-ray and concluded, 'No further radiology follow up is deemed necessary'.

After the breast screening scandal, Dr Urquhart was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council but allowed to carry on working at Torbay Hospital following a period of re-training and supervision.

In 2004 the supervision came to an end and he carried on his work as a radiologist, though not in the breast screening unit.

The writ claims the trust should have spotted early signs of Mr Biddick's illness in an x-ray taken on August 4, 2005.

Mrs Biddick claims this failure caused a delay in his treatment which ultimately proved fatal.

She claims the disease was operable at the early stage with the chances of long-term survival more than 50 per cent.

The writ details the medical history of Mr Biddick in the years leading up to his death.

It says that on August 8, 2005, following an x-ray at the hospital Dr Urquhart reported that 'shadowing' noted in previous tests 'has resolved'.

"No further radiological follow-up is deemed necessary," he concluded.

The writ says the GMC allowed Dr Urquhart to continue working after 2004 despite being found guilty of professional misconduct.

It states: "By August 2005, Dr Urquhart had completed the period of re-training and his x-ray reporting was no longer being supervised by the hospital."

In November 2008 new tests on Mr Biddick revealed a tumour and another doctor advised 'urgent referral'.

The writ claims the hospital then missed signs the cancer had spread to the brain.

By the end of the year the cancer had spread and Mr Biddick's condition was incurable.

When the Herald Express tried to contact Dr Urquhart by telephone he was unavailable to comment.

A spokesman for South Devon Healthcare Trust said: "This is a very sad case the trust is keen to resolve. The trust is unable to comment on the treatment of Mr Biddick as the claim is the subject of litigation.

"The GMC proceedings related only to Dr Urquhart's mammography work and did not call into question his general radiology practice.

"In line with the GMC's recommendation, Dr Urquhart was placed on a period of retraining and supervision. He was passed as competent by the National Clinical Assessment Unit prior to Mr Biddick's treatment. Dr Urquhart retired from the trust last year."