‘Hero’ surgeon who helped to expose vaginal mesh scandal faces losing home over £634k court bill

‘Hero’ surgeon who helped to expose pelvix mesh scandal faces losing home over £634k court bill Prof Sohier El-Neil was sued by patient Deborah Biggadike after gynaecological surgery - Bookmark An award-winning surgeon, once lauded as a "health hero", faces the potential loss of her home and even imprisonment after failing to settle a £634,000 court bill. Professor Sohier El-Neil, a pioneering medic recognised with a national award in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Theresa May for her work in women’s health rights, was sued by patient Deborah Biggadike following gynaecological surgery in January 2017. Ms Biggadike was left with "life-changing injuries", including pain and bladder issues. A High Court judge subsequently ruled that part of the treatment provided by Prof El-Neil was "not clinically justified". The surgeon was ordered to pay Ms Biggadike £200,118 in compensation, alongside £434,876 in legal fees. However, only £50,000 of this sum has been paid. In May 2025, a charging order was placed on Prof El-Neil’s £800,000 apartment near Hyde Park to cover the outstanding £584,000 owed to her former patient. Now, Ms Biggadike, 61, from Hertfordshire, is petitioning a High Court judge to impose an order that could lead to the surgeon’s incarceration if the outstanding payment continues to be withheld. But lawyers told the court that Prof El-Neil has herself been battling acute ill health, saying she had previously asked for the case against her to be “stayed” as she was “medically unfit to participate in legal proceedings”. Prof El-Neil, a medical professor at UCL and a consultant gynaecologist specializing in urogynaecology and uro-neurology at University College Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, became a celebrity in 2018 due to her leading role in exposing the vaginal mesh scandal. Vaginal mesh was once widely used for stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, but its use was restricted in the UK in 2018 after some women experienced chronic pain and other life changing effects. Many sought removal of the mesh, but complete extraction has proved difficult. Prof El-Neil was repeatedly interviewed on television and radio, presented with awards from BBC’s The One Show’s NHS Patients Awards, presented by Alex Jones and Matt Baker, with actor Michael Sheen announcing her as the winner, as well as a Daily Mail Health Hero Award presented by then-prime minister Theresa May. But she began a fall from grace when in July 2024 she was found to have “breached her duty” to Ms Biggadike in failing to secure her informed consent for treatment “which could not be justified on grounds of symptomology”, and which left her facing long-term bladder problems. She was subsequently suspended from working by the GMC's fitness to practice panel in October 2024 after findings that she had made false statements to another patient regarding mesh removal surgery. High Court judge Carmel Ward, ruling on Ms Biggadike's claim in 2024, found Ms El-Neil’s evidence to be “wanting” and ordered her to pay her patient £200,118 compensation. The surgeon was also told to pay her former patient’s legal fees of £434,876 in January last year. But after the £50,000 instalment, Prof El-Neil has not paid anything more and subsequently failed to attend court hearings enquiring into her assets and means to pay her debts, Ms Biggadike’s barrister Giselle McGowan told the High Court last week, branding her conduct “appalling”. However, the court also heard that the acclaimed medic has herself been battling acute ill health, with a letter submitted to the court from a psychiatrist in September last year disclosing that she was undergoing treatment for PTSD. But Ms McGowan told Mrs Justice Lambert that despite having repeatedly failed to attend court fixtures as required, Prof El-Neil had managed to continue with some academic and professional commitments. “Whilst Ms El-Neil has repeatedly stated that she is and has been incapable of dealing with enforcement proceedings relating to the claim due to mental health difficulties she has been experiencing since December 2024, Ms Biggadike has obtained evidence demonstrating that during his same period she appears to have given professional lectures on 24 and 26 February 2025, and attended a professional conference in Leeds on May 20 2025 - being the day she failed to attend for questioning.” Prof El-Neil had also contributed to “numerous academic papers and articles” published throughout 2024 and 2025, said the barrister. Ms Biggadike is now attempting to secure a ruling that the surgeon has committed a contempt of court in repeatedly failing to attend hearings and file essential court documents. Her barrister said a committal order - carrying a suspended jail term - was needed in order to obtain Ms Biggadike's full compensation in a situation where Prof El-Neil has yet to pay anything towards the £200,000 damages pay-out ordered, and with a costs debt of £384,876 still hanging over her. “The judgment order is made up of damages for life-changing personal injury caused to the claimant by Ms El-Neil’s negligence, and as a result of which Ms Biggadike has incurred and continues to incur costs," she said. “Whilst Ms El-Neil fails to meet her legal responsibility to compensate the claimant for the same, Ms Biggadike remains out of pocket and continues to incur further costs for which she is not being - but should have been - compensated. “In order to obtain satisfaction, Ms Biggadike is forced to continue to pursue enforcement action with all the stress and additional costs that this entails. “Her behaviour within the claim and in relation to enforcement action has been appalling and is to be deprecated." Addressing the judge personally, Ms Biggadike told him that the surgery she underwent with Prof El-Neil which resulted in her injuries had been "private treatment" organised at a "Harley Street clinic". Prof El-Neil failed to attend last week's hearing and was not respresented, at the end of which Mrs Justice Lambert reserved her judgment.