Hadiza Bawa-Garba has been allowed to practise again without restrictions, 10 years after a 6 year old boy in her care died of septic shock following a mistaken diagnosis of gastroenteritis.

A well regarded trainee paediatrician at the time Jack Adcock died in 2011, Bawa-Garba was later found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. Many doctors saw her as a scapegoat for an overstretched and underfunded NHS.

An investigation at Leicester Royal Infirmary found numerous system failures on the 12 hour shift when she was working under extreme pressure, covering several wards without adequate supervision and with IT problems. 

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Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba’s application to have her medical licence fully restored was granted today by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). The Doctors’ Association UK have supported Dr Bawa-Garba throughout her case and welcome the news that she can now work without supervision

The case of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba united the medical profession in fear and anger. A paediatrician in training, with a previously unblemished record, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter for judgements made whilst doing the jobs of several doctors at once, covering six wards across four floors, responding to numerous paediatric emergencies, without a functioning IT system, and in the absence of a consultant. All when just returning from 14 months of maternity leave.

In 2018, the GMC’s aggressive pursuit of an otherwise highly regarded doctor, against the advice of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), prompted widespread outrage amongst doctors. The GMC subsequently launched an independent  review of gross negligence manslaughter led by Mr Leslie Hamilton to promote learning from this case. The Doctors’ Association UK expect them to continue to implement all the recommendations of this review

“We welcome the fact that Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba has had her licence to practice medicine fully restored today to allow her to work independently. We are pleased that the GMC today opted for a neutral stance.
Healthcare desperately needs an open, transparent, learning culture, where harm is minimised by learning from error and failings. Scandals such as Mid-Staffs, Gosport, and Morecambe Bay repeatedly demonstrate how a culture of defensiveness and denial can escalate into widespread cover-up leaving families fighting for answers.

 
We hope that the GMC works toward full implementation of ALL 29 recommendations of the Independent review into gross negligence manslaughter so that learning can continue. Fear is toxic and blame should not be used as a tool. Jack Adcock should have received better care but this was due to system-wide failure. His death was a tragedy due to this. Our thoughts are also with his family”

Dr Jenny Vaughan, Chair of The Doctors’ Association UK, and Learn Not Blame Campaign Lead

“When the General Medical Council (GMC) appealed for her to be struck off the medical register, it lit the blue touch paper for a whole generation of doctors working in very challenging conditions across the country. Many of these doctors were simply not prepared to accept the High Court’s subsequent verdict in January 2018 that Bawa-Garba should be erased from the medical register. And while the GMC’s appeal was initially successful, its pyrrhic victory was to be short lived. An unprecedented crowdfunding appeal raised more than £350 000 for Bawa-Garba to hire a new legal team and launch an appeal. In August 2018 the appeal court rejected the High Court’s decision to allow the GMC to erase Bawa-Garba’s name from the medical register.”

Read the full article here:

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/05/09/jenny-vaughan-the-bawa-garba-case-should-usher-in-a-fairer-culture-in-healthcare/