A 59-year-old surgeon at a hospital in Emmen was sacked on Tuesday after an investigation concluded that he was responsible for the deaths of at least five patients who underwent stomach reduction operations, report various media.

Seven patients who were operated on for stomach reductions by the surgeon at the Scheper hospital subsequently died. The surgeon was directly responsible for five of the deaths and two of these were caused by technical mistakes, according to the committee that investigated the case, reports the Volkskrant.

The investigators said the surgeon was too much of a solo operator and was unable to communicate effectively with colleagues or patients.

According to the hospital's management board, the surgeon, who has not been named, was not capable of carrying out the operations and is unlikely to be able to do so in the future, the paper says.

The hospital told the Volkskrant that steps have been taken to prevent similar situations in the future.