A third surgeon at the General Hospital is under investigation.

Following complaints from other members of staff about the surgeon’s approach to patients and general behaviour, a panel from the Royal College of Surgeons in the UK was called to Jersey this month. On 5 and 6 February they interviewed numerous Health and Social Services staff.

Although the surgeon has not been named, it is understood he has nothing to do with either the death of nurse Elizabeth Rourke after a routine operation or the incident earlier this month which saw another senior surgeon suspended – and a police investigation launched – following the death of a patient.

The news piles more pressure on the Health Department, which has come in for criticism for the way in which it allegedly failed to deal with early warning signs before the death of staff nurse Mrs Rourke. A third early warning sign about the ability of Dr Dolores Moyano Ontiveros, who was cleared of the manslaughter of Mrs Rourke last month, has now emerged.

• Picture: The Royal College of Surgeons in London