Doctors hail ruling over paediatrician
DOCTORS have welcomed a Court of Appeal ruling which overturned a decision to strike off a paediatrician over the death of a six-year-old boy.
Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after Jack Adcock developed sepsis and died at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011.
Yesterday she won her appeal against a High Court decision to strike her off and her original sanction of one year’s suspension, imposed by a medical tribunal, was reinstated.
Speaking after the ruling Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, chair of the Doctors’ Association UK, said she believed the Court of Appeal reached the right decision, but that no one was going to be “celebrating”.
She said: “There were never going to be any winners in this case and our thoughts are very much with Jack Adcock’s family, who have seen this case drag on for years and years and once again their grief has been thrown into the public spotlight.
“If the judgment had gone the other way that would have sent a very clear message from the GMC and the court that, if you make an honest mistake as a doctor whilst trying to do your best with very limited resources, that you will be pursued in the courts and you could end up with a criminal conviction.”
“We need to start learning and stop blaming individuals.”
Dr Rob Hendry, medical director at the Medical Protection Society (MPS), said after the ruling: “We are very pleased the appeal submitted by Dr Bawa-Garba’s legal team has been successful.
“MPS supported Dr Bawa-Garba for seven years. We know how much this will mean to her, and to the profession.
“The strength of feeling on this case amongst our members and the wider healthcare community has been unprecedented. It is vital that lessons are now learned to avoid other doctors having to go through the same ordeal.”
Dr Cicely Cunningham, who runs the Doctors’ Association UK’s Learn Not Blame campaign, said: “Pursuing an honest doctor with a previously unblemished record through the courts for errors made in the context of system failures does nothing to improve patient safety. The GMC needs to shift its focus away from individual blame and instead truly prioritise the safety and wellbeing of those who use the NHS.”
Royal College of Physicians (RCP) president Professor Dame Jane Dacre said that the judgment was “a welcome step towards the development of a just culture in healthcare, as opposed to a blame culture”.
She added: “Our thoughts today are first and foremost with the family of six-year-old Jack Adcock who died as a result of the errors that were made.
“While we understand the judgment is not what they hoped for, the RCP believes it will help us develop a culture in which families like them will be more likely to receive the support, clear explanations and apologies they need and deserve.”