Relatives are furious that GP can continue practising

A GP who prescribed potentially hazardous doses of sedatives and painkillers to elderly patients has been found guilty of “multiple instances” of serious professional misconduct by a General Medical Council panel but is allowed to continue practising.

The fitness to practise panel decided that Jane Barton should not be struck off but should be permitted to practise, subject to conditions that will be attached to her registration for three years.

In an unusual though not unprecedented move the GMC was quick to state its disagreement with the panel’s decision. It thought she should have been struck off and could support an application by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence for a High Court ruling that the sanction is unduly lenient.

The GMC’s chief executive, Niall Dickson, said, “We are surprised by the decision to apply conditions in this case. Our view was the doctor’s name should have been erased from the medical …