A team of NHS troubleshooters should be sent into the hospital at the centre of the Richard Neale scandal, according to Britain's leading patient watchdog.

Victims of the former Friarage Hospital consultant have been campaigning for a public inquiry into the Neale affair since he was struck off nearly a month ago for botching operations.

Management at the Friarage, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, have been criticised for failing to act against the rogue surgeon and for giving him a £100,000 pay-off when he left.

Yesterday, Sheila Wright-Hogeland and Graham Maloney, leaders of a support group for Mr Neale's former patients, had what they described as a "very constructive" 90- minute meeting with the Government's chief medical officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, about the case.

At the same time, the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales (ACHCEW) added its voice to the call for a public enquiry.

In a letter to Health Secretary Alan Milburn, Donna Covey, director of the patient watchdog umbrella group, said action was needed to restore public confidence in the Northallerton trust.

One way to do this would be to send in an investigating team from the independent Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), she said.

Ms Covey said ACHCEW "would like to support the request made by the women treated by Richard Neale for a public inquiry into the circumstances which enabled him to continue practising surgery for so long with such disastrous outcomes".

An inquiry panel should investigate what happened at the Northallerton trust during Mr Neale's time there, and focus on the role played by those in authority, she added.

Her second option is an investigation - possibly by the Commission for Health Improvement - "with the intention of ensuring that such a catalogue of events could not take place now".

Mr Maloney, spokesman for the 200-strong patient group, said the chief medical officer "listened very carefully to what we had to say and what we want to see happen and told us he would get back to us after speaking to ministers."

A Department of Health official said: "The meeting with representatives of Mr Neale's victims was very helpful and constructive. The support group provided us with valuable information and we will be discussing what the next step will be."

A spokesman for The Friarage said: "We would cooperate fully with any inquiry.