Doctors no longer admit errors after prosecution of paediatrician

DOCTORS are unwilling to own up to mistakes after the prosecution of a paediatrician over the death of a young boy, polling suggests.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-garba was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter over the death of six-year-old Jack Adcock in 2011, receiving a suspended two-year prison sentence and being struck off the medical register, but medical professionals have claimed that the doctor’s attempts to reflect on her errors had been used against her.

In a survey of 682 GPS by Pulse magazine, 52 per cent said they had “stopped or adapted” their appraisal reflections since the 2015 case. A doctor who gave evidence in defence of Dr Bawa-garba said his advice was to “only write down what you would be happy to have read back in court”.

Dr Bawa-garba failed to spot that Jack, from Glen Parva, Leics, was suffering from septic shock, then mistook him for a different child under a “do not resuscitate” order and told colleagues to stop life-saving attempts when his heart stopped.

The case focused attention on the use of material gained from doctors’ appraisals, with Dr Bawa Garba’s personal development reflections seen by expert witnesses. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, ordered a review of medical malpractice cases after the case, saying he was “deeply concerned about possibly unintended implications for learning and reflective practice in e-journals.”

Dr Mark Howell, a GP from Somerset told Pulse: “I am now much more vague in the details I put into my appraisal to make sure there is absolutely no way the case discussion can be referred to an identified case.”

Dr Andrew Sampson, a Gloucester GP said: “I have removed some reflections from my appraisal which could have been misconstrued and in future will only put in positive reflections to prevent anyone using them against me in a court.”