For doctors who are advised that the GMC’s Case Examiners are “minded to warn” them about their behaviour, one of the most important questions to consider is whether they should contest the warning and what the chances are that the…
In the latest GMC appeal,[1] against the determination of its own Tribunal service, the High Court felt unable ‘to conclude that the Tribunal was wrong to impose a period of conditional registration, and to reject the sanctions of suspension or erasure.’ On…
In two recent High Court judgments the spotlight fell on the topic of cross-examination in hearings before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT). Neither judgment flatters the Tribunal proceedings. The first judgment The first case involved a challenge brought by a doctor to…
Recent media coverage of the treatment meted out to politicians and journalists under the guise of political protest has highlighted the use of mobile phones to record video footage, and the posting of such footage to the internet. In that context,…
In late 2017, newly qualified Dr S had been out with a group of friends at the races to celebrate a friend’s birthday and his own graduation. This led to the group going to a nightclub and to Dr S…
The Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the appeal of by Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba against the decision of the Divisional Court to erase her. Following the decision of the High Court in January 2018 to substitute the original Medical Practitioner’s Tribunal (MPT)…
The report of the ‘Williams Review’,[1] which was tasked with scrutinising the offence of gross negligence manslaughter (GNM) in healthcare after the controversial decision of the High Court in the Bawa-Garba[2] case, has been published. The review panel has recommended a range…
The General Medical Council (GMC) has appointed an independent expert in order to address improvements that can be made to its fitness to practise procedures. The duration of a GMC investigation into a medical professional depends on the complexity and seriousness…
On 26 February 2018, the General Medical Council (GMC) introduced changes to the publication and disclosure of information relating to a doctor’s fitness to practise. This information is published on the GMC’s website via the List of Registered Practitioners (LRMP). This…
Allegations which put a defendant’s state of mind in issue can be difficult to defend, especially where the prosecution is only required to prove their case on the balance of probabilities. The challenges are compounded when the defendant cannot remember…
