For the first time Charlie Massey publicly stated that his decision to appeal the fitness to practice (MPTS) verdict, and pursue Dr Bawa-Garba in the High Court was wrong.

Giving a much need explanation Mr Massey stated:

‘The GMC wasn’t involved in the criminal process whatsoever. So the question that came to me was whether or not that criminal conviction itself should lead to suspension or erasure. The tribunal decided to suspend Dr Bawa-Garba. The advice that I had at the time was that the tribunal had acted unlawfully and went behind the criminal judgement in terms of her responsibility for Jack Adcock’s death. I said at the time that I felt I had no option but to appeal that decision. The High Court decision have upheld that view and then the Court of Appeal overturned that view. It clarified that that legal advice I had was with hindsight not correct and I completely accept that. If that case came up now that Court of Appeal judgement would mean that I wouldn’t have appealed that case.’

DAUK welcomes the Charlie Massey’s comments and are pleased that it has now been accepted by the GMC that their decision to take Dr Bawa-Garba’s to court to have her erased from the medical register was wrong.

Dr Batt-Rawden who interviewed Charlie Massey said ‘We very much welcome the GMC’s acknowledgment that their actions in the Bawa-Garba case were wrong. It was refreshing to hear such honesty from the GMC, and for the first time some evidence of genuine reflection and learning. However, it will take more than this to win back the trust of doctors and repair the damage done to the medical profession. Doctors will be no doubt be asking why it took so long for the GMC to take responsibility for their decision making in a case which has not only damaged morale against the frontlines, but also had a negative impact on patient safety. It is a shame that it has taken 16 months of lobbying from DAUK to get us to this point, but I am hopeful we can now start to move on, and work with the GMC on moving from a culture of blame, to one of learning.’

CONTACT

Contact@dauk.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden presented a documentary on BBC Radio 4 aired at 2000 on 10th June 109 on why doctors are leaving the NHS. As part of this episode she interview Charlie Massey, as well as senior representatives of the BMA, RCEM and NHS Providers.

2.DAUK is an independent lobbying group formed in response to the GMC’s actions in the Bawa-Garba case. It’s first action as an organisation was to co-ordinate a letter to Charlie Massey protesting his decision to take Dr Bawa-Garba to court in a letter signed by over 4500 doctors and several MPs.

3.DAUK called for a public investigation into the GMC’s handling of the case which was held by the Health Select Committee in October 2018.

4.DAUK have given evidence to both the Williams Review and the GMC commissioned independent review into gross negligence manslaughter and culpable homicide.

Coverage in Pulse:

The GMC’s chief executive has admitted the legal advice the regulator received during the Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba case was wrong and if the same case were to take place now he would not try to have a doctor barred from practice.

Charlie Massey said he ‘completely accepts’ the legal advice he was given to pursue the striking off of Dr Bawa-Garba – who was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of a six-year-old patient – was ‘not correct’.

In response, Dr Batt-Rawden said: ‘The acknowledgment that his decision to appeal the MPTS verdict in Dr Bawa-Garba’s case was incorrect was long overdue and will be welcomed by doctors and the public.

‘DAUK wrote to the GMC as far back as February 2018 in a letter signed by over 4,500 doctors in protest of the GMC’s appeal against Dr Bawa-Garba. In that letter we brought to light that the Professional Standards Authority had found this decision to be “incorrect” and “without merit” and that the MPTS “considered all relevant principles and applied the case law appropriately”.

‘DAUK also pointed out that the Supreme Court established that professional tribunals were better placed than courts to determine professional competence in 2016. We were therefore astonished by the GMC’s actions in this case. We were pleased that DAUK was found to be correct in the Court of Appeal in August 2018 and that Dr Bawa-Garba was rightly restored to the medical register, something we have long fought for during our Learn Not Blame campaign.’

She added: ‘To my knowledge this was the first occasion that Charlie Massey accepted publicly that this decision was wrong. This represents a crucial first step in repairing the damage done to the medical profession by the Bawa-Garba case.

‘The GMC still has a long way to go in regaining the trust of doctors, but for the first time in this interview I saw that some genuine reflection and learning had taken place. I hope this signals change in tone from the GMC and we look forward to working with them in moving from a culture of blame, to one of learning.’

Read the full article here:

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/gp-topics/legal/gmc-chief-executive-admits-bawa-garba-legal-advice-was-wrong/20038855.article

This week I had the opportunity to interview Charlie Massey, the chief executive of the General Medical Council (GMC), for a BBC Radio 4 documentary on why doctors are leaving the NHS. It didn’t start well. I found myself on a train to Portsmouth instead of London having been up most of the night; proof that tired doctors do indeed make mistakes.

Generously Charlie did meet with me, some hour and a half late. I felt it was crucial that we acknowledge the impact that the blame culture has had on recruitment and retention.

I was surprised and encouraged, when Massey admitted publicly that the decision to take Hadiza Bawa-Garba to the High Court to have her erased from the medical register was wrong.

To me, this was an incredible acknowledgement from the GMC. But I have no doubt that doctors will be asking: why did it take so long?

Read the full article in the BMJ:

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/06/12/a-change-of-tone-from-the-gmc-but-can-they-win-back-doctors-trust/

Currently, there is plentiful guidance for doctors and NHS staff who wear religious garments, and when patients can ask a treating clinician to remove them. However, no such guidance exists for the opposite situation.

Whilst DAUK have not commented on the specifics of this particular case, the committee remain concerned that this could make doctors, particularly those working in isolated environments, vulnerable to fitness to practise proceedings.

DAUK’s comments on the need for more guidance were published widely in the mainstream press, prompting an open dialogue with the GMC.

In the Evening Standard DAUK said: “It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected. However, evidently there are some circumstances where removeal of a niqab or burka is necessary for medical assessment and treatment. The GMC should consider issuing clear guidelines to protect both doctors and our patients.”

Charlie Massey, the Chief Executive of General Medical Council, told DAUK:

‘Our guidance makes clear that we expect doctors to treat patients’ beliefs and choice of religious dress with respect. If having exhausted all possible alternative communication approaches a doctor believes they cannot provide safe care without seeing a woman’s face, they can sensitively explore whether she would be willing to remove her face covering. Should this cause her distress the doctor will need to continue with other channels of communication.

‘If a doctor follows this guidance and treats patients politely, honestly and with sensitivity, then they have nothing to fear from being referred to the GMC.

‘The full facts of this case have not been aired, nor should they be until the issue has been examined fully and fairly. Doctors and patients have a right to expect that we carry out investigations in an even-handed way, so we will not be commenting on the specifics of the case referred to us by Dr Wolverson’s employer.

‘Employers only refer cases to the GMC where the conduct or behaviour of a doctor raises a serious concern around future care of patients.’

They had two panels of experts. Professor Sir Norman Williams summarised the recommendations of his review and Sir Robert Francis clarified the law. They also heard from a healthcare ethicist, Dr Suzanne Shale and Professor Pali Hungin, member the current GNM/CH review set up by the General Medical Council (GMC).

Charles Massey took part in the second panel along with the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Keith Conradi from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB). DAUK, Dr David Nicholl and more recently GP Survival have been calling upon the Health and Social Care Committee to conduct a public inquiry into Hadiza’s case since February. DAUK has corresponded with Dr Sarah Wollaston asking the HSC to question Charlie Massey over his decision to appeal the MPTS tribunal decision in the case of Dr Bawa-Garba now overturned, as it was legally flawed, by the Appeal Court. DAUK was invited to submit a written briefing for the HSC alongside a briefing from the BMA, now published on the Parliament website.

This briefing will be used by Members to inform their line of questioning towards the regulators and other panelists as well as being published.

Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, Chair of DAUK said, “We thank the Health and Social Care Committee for asking for written evidence from grassroots doctors. The case of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba has had a profound impact on doctors, and trainees in particular, who now feel vulnerable that they too may face a criminal conviction for honest mistakes made whilst working under pressure. It is crucial that the HSC hear from doctors, the very people whom the current legislation on gross negligence manslaughter directly affects.”

The DAUK committee are keen to hear your thoughts and keen to represent the views of our members in the briefing. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions as to what to include.

A doctor-led lobbying group has urged the health secretary to review the GMC’s ability to appeal its own fitness-to-practice tribunal.

In a letter to Matt Hancock, the Doctor’s Association UK said the GMC’s right to appeal the MPTS has led to ‘significant unwelcome and unintended consequences’.

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal overturned a GMC-led High Court decision to strike-off Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba, after the MPTS had called for her suspension following the death of Jack Adcock.

Following the case, the Government launched a ‘rapid review’ into the use of gross negligence manslaughter charges in medicine, concluding that the GMC should no longer have the right to appeal MPTS decisions.

However, Pulse revealed that the GMC is not intending to halt appeals against the MPTS until the law is changed.

The letter, which is co-signed by other lobbying groups including GP Survival and Doctors in Unite, said the case made doctors ‘feel that we too, could be pursued through the courts for errors made whilst simply trying our best’.

It said: ‘We, the undersigned, all agree that the GMC cannot be trusted to take a balanced and considered approach in the sanction of doctors who have made honest mistakes in the context of system failures.’

The letter added: ‘We are concerned that should the GMC’s action continue unchecked, that there will be a further breakdown in trust between the medical profession and its regulator, and the NHS will continue to move towards a culture of fear and blame, rather than one of learning.’

The association then urges Mr Hancock to:

• Call upon the GMC to cease appealing MPTS verdicts

• Confirm that the GMC’s right to appeal MPTS verdicts will be repealed, as per the recommendations of the Williams Review

• Set out a timeframe for when and how this legislation will be changed

The letter comes after the appeals court told the GMC to show ‘restraint’ after it quashed another GMC-bid to sanction a doctor last month.

In our letter DAUK also:

-expresses concern regarding the news that the GMC has continued to appeal MPTS verdicts following the judgment in Bawa-Garba v GMC

-expresses concern that this week Lord Justice Bean urged that the GMC show ‘restraint’ when exercising this power in the judgment of Raychaudhuri v GMC on the 14th September, and in discussing the case appeal judges expressed ‘regret that it was brought’.

-expresses concern that the GMC is currently appealing the MPTS verdicts of four doctors in the courts in order to impose a higher sanction. DAUK has asked Mr Massey to grateful clarify if this is indeed the case.

-states that we still do not feel that doctors, the patient safety community and the public, have been provided with a clear understanding of how the GMC came to the decision to appeal the MPTS verdict in Dr Bawa-Garba’s case, or indeed the processes which the GMC follows when deciding to appeal the MPTS verdicts of other doctors’ cases.

-confirms that Dr Sarah Wollaston has informed us the Health Select Committee will hold an evidence session on gross negligence manslaughter and patient safety in the Autumn.

-informs Mr Massey that we will be urging the Government to move forward with the legislative changes needed to repeal the relevant amendment to Section 40A that allows the GMC to appeal MPTS verdicts in a timely matter.

-calls upon Massey to cease appealing MPTS verdicts urgently.

-supports the petition started by Dr Jenny Vaughan that calls on the GMC to ensure that the court fees awarded to Dr Bawa-Garba are not paid for from the subscription fees of the doctors who supported her.

-extends an invitation to both Mr Massey and Professor Terence Stephenson to the formal launch of our Learn Not Blame campagin in Westminster hosted by Dr Philippa Whitford MP in November.

read the full letter here

We welcome Mr Massey’s apology and will be taking him up on his offer to meet DAUK. We will be responding to this this week in light of the news that the GMC has continued to appeal MPTS verdicts in the courts. This is despite the recommendations made by the Williams Review and widespread concern following the GMC’s actions in Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba’s case.

read charlie massey’s reply in full