Shameful decision not to strike Dr Jane Barton from the Medical Register

BBC News reports that the GMC's fitness to practise panel found Jane Barton guilty of serious professional misconduct for prescribing "potentially hazardous" levels of drugs to elderly patients who later died. - The word 'potentially' sits oddly there, doesn't it? - These patients died. The drug levels she prescribed were surely actually hazardous, rather than potentially. - Her victims died. There is surely no greater hazard than death.

This woman should have been ignominiously struck off years ago.

GMC has been failing relatives of the Gosport dead

Independent on Sunday report
"Families threaten to boycott General Medical Council probe into deaths of elderly patients at Hampshire hospital."

It is long past time that the useless and partial GMC were scrapped.

Professor David Southall has been struck off the medical register for serious professional misconduct.

Misconduct case gets doctor struck off register

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"Dr Jacqueline Mitton, the chairman of the Fitness to Practise panel, said Prof Southall had "deep-seated attitudinal problems".

"Your misconduct is so serious that it is fundamentally incompatible with your continuing to be a registered medical practitioner," she said."

"The latest case involved a woman, named only as Mrs M, whose 10-year-old son hanged himself in 1996.

The medical council hearing was told that Prof Southall refused to believe her version of events.

He insisted that she had taken needles from the hospital where she worked to give him a lethal dose of drugs. Police officers found no evidence to back his claims."

Professor David Southall could face the end of his career after a further reprimand from the General Medical Council

Controversial paediatrician reprimanded again

Extract from The Guardian:

"Leading paediatrician Professor David Southall could face the end of his career after the General Medical Council found yesterday that he inappropriately accused a distressed mother of drugging and then murdering her 10-year-old son.

The GMC tribunal will sit again today to decide whether Southall's behaviour constitutes serious professional misconduct and if so, what the penalty should be.

Southall has faced a series of inquiries by the GMC into allegations brought by parents of children taken into care on the basis of his evidence of abuse.

He was banned from child protection work for three years after he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in 2004 for accusing jailed solicitor Sally Clark's husband of murdering their children on the basis of remarks he made on a television programme. Clark was later freed on appeal and has since died.

Yesterday's hearing concerned a woman referred to only as Mrs M, whose older son had been found hanged in 1996. Southall was asked to prepare an independent report for Shropshire county council in 1998, after concerns about the safety of the younger son, then eight years old, led to him being taken into care.

The GMC panel found that Southall went beyond his remit in accusing M of killing the older boy.

Giving evidence by video link from Adelaide, where she now lives, M said Southall had repeatedly asked her how the older boy died and she demonstrated using a pencil and a shoelace. She told the panel that Southall looked at her and said "very clever" in a sarcastic voice.

The boy was found hanging from a curtain rail. Southall said to her, she continued, sobbing: "I put it to you that you killed your son by injecting him, hanging him up, leaving him there and then ringing an ambulance.""

I hope that the GMC decides on the severest penalty for this foolish, dangerous man, who has caused grieving parents and families such great, needless, unjustified further suffering.

Russell Reid found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

Sex change doctor guilty of misconduct - Guardian

Extract:

"The UK's best-known expert on transsexualism was today found guilty of serious professional misconduct for rushing five patients into sex-changing treatments, but avoided being struck off.

The General Medical Council ruled that Russell Reid, who retired last year, could only return to work under strict conditions imposed for the next 12 months that mean he can only work under strict supervision.

He must provide the GMC with a record of his treatments of any patients with gender identity disorders such as transsexualism every three months.

The disciplinary panel ruled that Dr Reid must no longer prescribe patients with sex-changing hormones at the first appointment, nor without a firm diagnosis that they are transsexual or a proper psychiatric assessment.

The panel determined that the consultant psychiatrist was too quick to provide patients with hormones and to refer them for genital surgery.

"The panel considers that the seriousness of your misconduct lies in your lack of caution in initiating hormonal and surgical gender reassignment treatment in these patients without more careful and through investigation and assessment," said John Shaw, the panel chairman.

"The panel therefore determined that your misconduct was serious, and that you are guilty of serious professional misconduct.""

Not much of a punishment, is it? The GMC can always be relied upon to exercise unwarranted leniency in dealing with negligent doctors...)o:


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Prof David Southall, who was suspended from child protection work for three years in 2004, is to have previous cases reviewed

Prof Southall to have previous cases reviewed

Extract:

"Prof Southall is currently facing a hearing before a General Medical Council fitness-to-practise panel on a separate matter.

He is alleged to have kept about 4,450 “special” case files on children which were not stored on the child’s proper hospital file.

Lord Goldsmith’s spokesman said there were concerns that proper disclosure of medical records may not have been made in cases that led to a prosecution.. "

This is good to hear. Far too often crucial medical records get removed or are 'lost' when doctors are at fault and I have yet to hear of any sanctions being taken against this practice.