Doctors: GMC chief’s position is ‘untenable’ over struck-off medic
HOSPITAL DOCTORS have told the chief executive of the medical register that his position is “untenable” due to his handling of the case of a paediatrician who was struck off following the death of a six-year-old boy in her care.
Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba, who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter over the death of Jack Adcock, of Leicester, won her bid to be reinstated to the General Medical Council (GMC) at the Court of Appeal earlier this month.
The actions of the GMC have angered many doctors who said issues raised by the case – including dangerous levels of understaffing, failures of IT systems and staff working in inappropriate conditions – had been ignored.
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) union is now warning chief executive Charlie Massey that the GMC may never restore the confidence of the medical profession under his leadership.
The HCSA said today that it has raised several specific concerns around Mr Massey’s conduct, including what it described as his personal decision – without reference to the GMC council – to seek to override the findings of its own tribunal service in the case.
Dr Bawa-Garba was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in 2015 after Jack died from sepsis at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011. A tribunal ruled in June last year that she should remain on the medical register despite her conviction, but issued a one-year suspension.
The GMC then took the case to the High Court to appeal against the sanction, saying it was “not sufficient” and Dr Bawa-Garba was struck off in January, before being reinstated two weeks ago.
A spokesman for the GMC said: “We recognise the anger felt by many doctors about this case. As an independent regulator responsible for protecting patient safety, we are frequently called upon to make difficult decisions, and we do not take that responsibility lightly. We have fully accepted the Court of Appeal’s judgment, in what was a complex and unusual case.”