A BURNLEY surgeon has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of a patient.

Dr Mahesh Goel, 39, of Burnley, and consultant urologist John Roberts, 59, are charged with the unlawful killing of patient Graham Reeves, 70.

Mr Reeves, 70, from Burry Port, West Wales, died in Swansea's Morriston Hospital five weeks after having the wrong kidney removed during an operation at Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, in January last year.

He developed septicaemia after the operation -- caused by bacteria and toxins in the blood -- and his condition deteriorated. The diseased kidney then had to be removed.

Mr Roberts is alleged to have overseen the operation and placed Mr Reeves on the operating table but the actual incision and removal of the healthy kidney was allegedly performed by Dr Goel.

At Swansea Crown Court yesterday, Joseph Ganner, prosecuting, said 5,000 pages of evidence had been served on the defence.

Roberts, of Ty Coch, Swansea, and father-of-two Goel, whose address was given as Burnley General Hospital bungalows, did not comment after the case.

But his barrister Paul Thomas said his family lived in Burnley, where his wife worked as a doctor. He was bailed to the Burnley address.

The court appearances follows a lengthy investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service which recommended that Dyfed-Powys Police start proceedings. Two inquiries were launched after Mr Reeves death: an internal one by the Carmarthenshire NHS Trust, alongside an independent investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Although both have been completed, the findings are being withheld pending the outcome of the criminal case.

But the inquiry by the Commission for Health Improvement was ordered by the Welsh Assembly and its findings were released.

The CHI discovered that even eight months after the tragedy the trust had not tightened up safety procedures.

The was case adjourned to December 21 when both surgeons will reappear to enter please to the charges.

Bosses at Burnley General Hospital today said that the surgeon had never worked there.

The court also heard that he had been to visit India to look after his mother and that his passport had been stolen.

A spokesman for Burnley Health Care NHS Trust said: "We are now aware that in the past Dr Goel has used Burnley General Hospital as a postal address. "We state categorically that he does not and has not worked here."