BMJ  2005;330:616 (19 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7492.616-b

News

GMC should not consider doctor's record when ruling on misconduct

Clare Dyer, legal correspondent

BMJ

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Testimonials from patients and colleagues, and a doctor's previously unblemished career, should not play a part when the General Medical Council decides whether the doctor is guilty of serious professional misconduct. This was a landmark ruling from the Court of Appeal last week.

In the first acquittal of a doctor by the GMC to go to the appeal court, three judges ruled that evidence of a doctor's previous good record should be taken into account in mitigation when deciding what penalty to impose, but not when deciding whether a doctor has been guilty of serious professional misconduct.

The judges said the GMC's professional conduct committee was wrong to apply earlier decisions of the Privy Counsel—the body that used to deal with appeals by doctors from GMC orders erasing them from the medical register—that a previous good record could be taken into account in deciding that Dr Nigel Birkin, a paediatrician . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Cole, A. (2006). UK launches panel to tackle research misconduct.. BMJ 332: 871-871 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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Level Playing Field
Maneesh Gupta
bmj.com, 26 Mar 2005 [Full text]
The GMC has not been the only body culpable
susanne mccabe
bmj.com, 30 Mar 2005 [Full text]
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