Trainee obstetrician is suspended for giving patient wrong advice and trying to conceal it

A registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology who altered hospital records to conceal his mistaken advice to a patient in labour has been suspended from the UK medical register for two months.

Christopher Mawson told a patient who had gone into labour at 23 weeks’ gestation that her baby would not be viable because of its prematurity, when in fact a significant minority of babies survive such early births and there are treatment options to improve their chances.

He counselled not intervening to preserve the infant’s life, a decision that expert witnesses for both sides agreed that a paediatrician should have discussed with the parents.

It was also trust policy for a paediatrician to attend all births at 23-24 weeks’ gestation, yet Mawson did not summon a paediatrician or neonatologist, nor discuss the baby’s care with one, he admitted to the medical …