Dr Benn appealed her five-month suspension from the medical register following her Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in April.

Responding to the High Court judgement, Dr Matt Lee, DAUK’s sustainability lead, said: “We are disappointed by the ruling, but accept the High Court decision.

“We passionately believe that doctors should always have a voice to speak out when patient safety is at risk, but do not support breaking the law.

“In the case of Dr Benn, we still strongly believe that her actions in no way impact her fitness or ability to practise medicine.

“Dr Benn is not alone in the medical community in feeling compelled to take part in peaceful protest to protect patients.

“We’re sure many doctors will be concerned by this ruling, particularly when the reason for protest is such a huge threat to our patients.

“The medical profession and its institutions should be leading on tackling climate change and the causes of climate change in order to protect public health.

“Regarding our survey on the public’s opinion of Dr Benn’s protest, the data was provided to Dr Benn to support her case and we are endeavouring to release it in due course following a peer review process.”

Please support our work by becoming a member or donating to our Go Fund Me.

Physician associates

DAUK is actively involved in the national discourse around the roles of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs). Our committee members have been vocal in the media, raising concerns about the roles and the regulation of PAs and AAs by the General Medical Council (GMC). We briefed politicians in the House of Commons and House of Lords on the draft Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024, the legislation for the regulation of non-doctors by the GMC, as it passed through Parliament.

Leng review

DAUK also briefed Peers ahead of a Lords debate on the Leng Review, which we welcomed when it was announced in November. We responded to the GMC consultation on their regulation, highlighting the widespread concern on the lack of scope and standards in what is being proposing. The GMC has now begun regulating PAs and AAs, despite a lot of concern around it, with our chair Ms Helen Fernandes saying it will not protect patients or doctors. We have given our support and contributed financially to a legal challenge by Anaesthetists United to the GMC regulation of PAs and AAs. DAUK will not let up on the issue of PAs and AAs. We firmly believe the future of the medical profession and the patients it looks after are at risk.

Dr Jenny Vaughan

We were deeply saddened by the death our dearest friend and colleague Dr Jenny Vaughan. Jenny was a founding member of DAUK, a past chair, and absolutely lived and breathed the Association. There were touching obituaries in the Guardian, the BMJ, and on BBC Radio 4’s Last Word. We are holding a FREE conference in memory of Jenny on 17 May (10am to 4pm) which will feature panels, discussions, and presentations on the causes she was passionate about, as well as some of the challenges facing the NHS.

GP crisis

Our GP committee has been extremely busy highlighting the issues that face general practice. Dr Ellen Welch’s book, Why Can’t I See My GP?, has been a cornerstone of our work with a copy sent to every MP before the general election to help them understand general practice and to make it a key issue. Since the election, copies have been sent to members of the Health Select Committee and to MPs who are also doctors, and we have relaunched our GP manifesto. Dr Welch featured in the Daily Mail, the Sunday Times, i News and the Daily Express, and was interviewed on Sky News, BBC Radio 5Live and BBC Radio Cumbria – among others. Her book prompted debate on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about which types of ailments people should see their GP with, and whether children should be taught in schools how to use and access the NHS.

Manifesto

The GP committee hosted an election briefing during which it unveiled its manifesto for saving general practice. Since the election our GP committee continues to hold the new government to account on issues around general practice. We warned that the increase in employer National Insurance contributions could put financial pressure on already struggling general practices. And while we cautiously welcomed an announcement by the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, for an extra £889m for general practice, we stressed that a huge amount of the money will be swallowed up meeting those National Insurance obligations. DAUK continues to call for funding to help solve the GP crisis. Indeed, we welcomed the findings of the Darzi Review, which advised the government to invest in general practice.

Work with government

We have offered to work with the government on solutions to the issues facing primary care. Our research has found that the equivalent of 3,000 doctors are currently unemployed or underemployed stand ready to work in general practice with the right investment. Committee members have been incredibly busy speaking to the media to highlight the issues facing general practice, not least Dr Sarah Jacques who shared her powerful story of burning out as a GP on BBC Breakfast and in the Telegraph. GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor has produced an astonishing wealth of data and statistics on the NHS and general practice, which he shares in his social media network. It’s helped Dr Taylor build an extensive following, including with health journalists, and insert him and DAUK into social media conversations.

NHS Practitioner Health

We highlighted a move by NHS England to stop the funding for hospital doctors referred for help to NHS Practitioner Health. Those who support doctors through Practitioner Health were also told just the week before it was due to be closed. One of our members, at that meeting, anonymously tipped us off. A social media campaign highlighted the NHS England plans in the media and the decision was reversed less than a week later.

Dr Sarah Benn

We were ‘shocked and saddened’ by the sanction handed down to Dr Sarah Benn following her Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing. Dr Benn, a GP for 32 years, was suspended from the medical register following her participation in peaceful climate protests. DAUK’s Dr Steve Taylor wrote a letter to the Times on the case and the discussions around it, saying that protesting would not affect clinical judgement or trustworthiness.

Climate crisis

We joined Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (PBHP UK) to highlight serious concerns from the medical profession over the Government-backed Let’s Eat Balanced campaign. Dr Matt Lee, DAUK’s sustainability lead, and Dr Shireen Kassam, director of PBHP UK, co-wrote an open letter to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to express their deep concerns at the high level of misinformation within the campaign, and ask for the campaign to be retracted. The letter was reported in a number of publications including the Independent and openDemocracy. A series of guest blogs have been published on our website, including this by Dr Marnie Sethi on the health impact of the climate crisis.

NHS Whistleblowing

DAUK supports the proposal for the Office of the Whistleblower and is working with not for profit organisation Whistleblowers UK to change how society thinks about whistleblowing. Dr David Nicholl is at the forefront of our work in this area to enable healthcare professionals to raise concerns without fear. Dr Nicholl highlighted our work to protect NHS whistleblowers at the Medical Journalists’ Association’s (MJA) symposium on Building Trust in Health Journalism. The symposium was supported by DAUK and gave our committee members the chance to hear presentations on a range of issues, and to make contact and build relationships with key health and medical journalists.

Overseas NHS Workers Day

The NHS came together for our fourth annual Overseas NHS Workers Day on Friday 1 March. Overseas NHS Workers Day is now a firm fixture in the calendar and provides a chance to celebrate the incredible contribution they make to the NHS and the health of our nation. Social media was full of videos, photos and the stories of our international colleagues, using the hashtag #OverseasNHSWorkersDay. Trusts displayed flags representing the countries of birth of overseas staff; colleagues wore blue and green, the colours of the day, and some even had an international-themed lunch. Overseas NHS Workers Day takes place this year on Friday 7 March. Join in the celebrations.

Academic Foundation Jobs

An open letter was sent to all medical school deans urging them to unite in opposition to changes to the allocation of academic foundation jobs. We believe UKFPO’s announcement that all Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) applications will fall under the Preference Information Allocation system posed serious issues. The frustrations of the many medical students who were allocated to foundation schools outside of their top choices were shared by our student committee. And we requested a formal review of the UKFPO system by the Department of Health.

DAUK in the media

DAUK and our committee members regularly contributed to articles and broadcasts, and provided briefings and background material to journalists working on more in-depth pieces. We are proactive in putting out comment on our website and social media, and sending it direct to journalists. Our members are working hard to build good working relationships with reporers, including though networking at events such as the Medical Journalists’ Association annual awards. Our work to oppose the expansion of PA and AA roles has had real cut through and been highlighted in the national media, and medical websites and publications. And we have had some stunning media coverage for our GP committee, with members regularly invited to comment in health publications such as GP Online and Pulse Online. We look forward to continuing to advocate for doctors, patients, and the profession in 2025. And, if you can, please support our work by becoming a member or donating to our Go Fund Me.

In a letter to the Times, Dr Taylor, Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) GP spokesperson, said the law was a complex set of rules that politicians have fallen foul of but continued to work.

His letter was in response to a column by Daniel Finkelstein, ‘Contempt for the law shows contempt for us all’.

Dr Taylor said: “The problem with this argument is that the law is a wide and complex set of rules, which at times are not as clear cut as he makes out.

“Indeed, many of our MPs have broken laws, which have not resulted in their suspension from parliament.

“The public have every right to be protected from law-breakers when they see a doctor, but it is unlikely that they would be fazed by seeing one that has broken a law that does not affect their clinical judgement or trustworthiness.”

Read Dr Taylor’s letter in full.

Dr Sarah Benn

Dr Benn, a GP of 32 years, was suspended for five months following her Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing after being arrested and jailed for her involvement in peaceful demonstrations at an oil terminal. Dr Benn said she had a moral duty to take action to protect health and life.

Read more details of her case.

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has set up a survey asking for the views of members, health professionals, and the public on Dr Benn’s case.

Please complete our short survey and tell us your views.

The survey has been reported on by Pulse and Doctors.net.

Our statement on the suspension of Dr Benn following her MPTS hearing was used by GPOnline.com.

Sign up to be a DAUK member and support our work.

Dr Benn, a GP for 32 years, was suspended from the medical register following her participation in peaceful climate protests.

Read more details of Dr Benn’s case.

We want to know, can doctors protest against climate change and still be doctors? Tell us your views.

We at DAUK understand that Dr Benn broke the law, an injunction that a US oil company had in place to prevent climate activists protesting outside its refinery, when she stood peacefully holding a small placard.

We also understand that patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and health; doctors must make sure their conduct justifies their patients’ trust in them and the public’s trust in the profession.

We also understand that the MPTS must do what is necessary to protect the public and that sanctions must be imposed, even where this may lead to difficulties for a doctor. The GMC states that this is necessary to fulfil its statutory overarching objective to protect the public.

Not all doctors subject to a custodial sentence having broken the law have been sanctioned by the MPTS. The MPTS can use its discretion.

In handing down a five-month suspension from the medical register for Dr Benn, the General Medical Council (GMC) and the MPTS is telling doctors and the public that it will, however, sanction those doctors who want to protest, to try to raise serious concerns about the risk to public health from the greatest threat to global health the world has seen. A doctor will be sanctioned even when the world is at stake.

We passionately believe that doctors should always have a voice to speak out when patient safety is at risk and never be silenced when raising evidence-based concerns. Climate change, its effect on the planet, weather patterns, future health and even the survival of the human race is evidence based.

Did Dr Benn put patients at risk with her placard? Did Dr Benn bring the medical profession into disrepute? Did she put the trust of the public in their doctors at risk? We at DAUK believe that Dr Benn is actively trying to protect the public and is prepared to go to prison to do so.

We would argue that the profession has not been undermined by her actions, and the public is not concerned about one doctor trying to protect them and the planet but more by the inadequate response of the Government and organisations, including the GMC, to our overwhelming and unprecedented climate crisis.

We hope Dr Benn’s patients can see another doctor whilst she is unable to do so, having been a trusted and admired GP for 32 years.

We continue to stand alongside Dr Benn and would suggest the vast majority of the medical profession and the public do also.

We believe this case has been incredibly damaging to free speech and patient safety.

We urge the MPTS to reconsider and encourage Dr Benn to appeal.

This is a story of a clinician being punished for raising serious concerns about dangerous inaction on the greatest threat to global health we have ever, or will ever experience.

The right to peaceful protest is a basic human right. It cannot and must not be taken away, especially not when the reason for protest has an overwhelming evidence base and threatens the lives of everyone and everything we love.

To decide what is criminal and what is legal is a decision for courts and governments.

However, as clinicians we must stand shoulder to shoulder when the evidence is as clear as with the climate crisis.

The GMC’s Good Medical Practice states that doctors ‘take prompt action’ if they think patient safety ‘is or may be seriously compromised’ which is exactly what these climate protestors claim they are doing.

The GMC says it acts to protect the public against erring doctors and must sanction doctors to maintain public trust in the profession.

Swathes of the public, if not the majority, are deeply concerned about the future of our planet and the inaction of our leaders to avert catastrophe – they are not concerned about a doctor trying to save our planet.

DAUK will proudly stand alongside Dr Benn as this tribunal progresses.

Our methods may differ but the message is clear: Governments, including the UK Government, and organisations, including the GMC, are failing to act quickly and effectively enough to protect global patient safety.

Their response, despite countless warnings from scientists across the globe, is not enough, and we are now in a position of annual life-threatening extreme weather events.

Dr Sarah Benn, we believe, is on the right side of history, and we ask the GMC and the MPTS, can you say the same?

Given the evidence on climate change and its health impacts, we strongly believe that peaceful protest should not be viewed as condemnable professional misconduct – but as commendable public health advocacy.