Mr Cohen added: “Should questions be asked about why it took them so long to realise that there was a problem?

“What’s clear is that the Women’s Hospital, once they realised there was a significant problem, seem to have done everything reasonable to investigate it and to make public their concerns.”

The hospital says more than 100 women came in for a further consultation after they began to call people forward in April last year. Doctors estimate around 50 of these have problems that may have been caused by Mr Rowland’s work.

Key findings of the report, compiled by Verita, conclude:

Warning signs were not acted upon in 2004-05, when it was noticed Mr Rowland was operating on more women than his colleagues – it is not clear what steps it took to make sure he was able to work in urogynaecology to the required standard.

Doctors need to work in teams more in the department to prevent individuals becoming isolated.

Services are not consistent across hospital sites, and a “cultural divide” exists between the main Women’s site and Aintree-based staff.

However, overall the report concludes the trust’s governance is “generally strong” and that many successful changes have already been made.

Managers have now drawn up an action plan to address these issues and are reviewing services provided at both the main hospital and at Aintree outpost.

Jonathan Herod, clinical director of gynaecology, said problems were not picked up on straight away because Mr Rowland often worked alone, without the guidance of colleagues. This began to change in 2007, when significant issues were noticed by fellow doctors.

The department is now making team working a priority.

He said: “If something similar happened now it would be picked up on straight away.”

Chief executive Kathryn Thomson said: “We decided that it was important to look at our governance practices more widely to ensure we learnt as much as possible from this incident.”

Any patients who have concerns relating to this incident can call the Trust's patient information telephone line Monday to Friday on 0151 702 4300.