The changing legal landscape of discrimination in medicine
BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0206172 (Published 01 June 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:0206172
- Peter Taysum, medical student1
- 1University of Newcastle
As the case surrounding Heidi Cox progresses, Peter Taysum discusses the issues and how it could set the precedent for discrimination against disabled students in the future In 1992, Heidi Cox started her undergraduate medical education at St George's Hospital Medical School. Unfortunately, she was seriously injured and damaged her spinal cord, and she became paraplegic. Heidi did not continue her medical studies after this, and she is currently a wheelchair user. She completed a bachelor's degree at Reading and a master's at City University and then decided to return to medicine: she applied and was accepted to Oxford University.
Disabled medical students in the same position as Heidi Cox face being unable to practice medicine
Oxford University contacted the General Medical Council (GMC; the regulatory body for medical education) for advice about how they could support her studies, and about tailoring their course to her different abilities. The council responded that under the Medical Education Act 1983, …
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