DOCTOR Hadiza Bawa-Garba, who was struck of the medical register, and not allowed to treat patients ever again, has won her appeal, reversing the decision and will now be allowed to start working as a doctor again, the High Court ruled yesterday afternoon.
Outside the High Court Doctor Bob Gill said: ‘We had justice today. The court of appeal has found in favour of Dr Bawa-Garba reversing the GMC erasure. This is a case that never should have been brought by the GMC, which sought to undermine its own tribunal, by trying to scapegoat a black muslim female, hijab-wearing, doctor for the systemic failings, which have arisen on government policy of defunding the NHS, ready for privatisation.’
She had been struck off over the death of a six-year-old boy Jack Adcock, who died of sepsis in 2011. Dr Bawa-Garba was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in 2015 over his death and it was ruled by the Medical Prationers Tribunal Service (MPTS) that she could not practice for a year.
The General Medical Council (GMC) had appealed the decision claiming it was ‘not sufficient to protect the public’ and she was struck off for good in January 2018. Thousands of doctors signed an open letter of support for Dr Bawa-Garba stating the case would ‘lessen our chances of preventing a similar death’.
Her appeal was funded by her fellow doctors and colleagues and was successful. Three senior judges quashed the High Court’s decision and restored the lesser sanction of a one-year suspension. Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton, who announced the ruling, said: ‘The sentence imposed in the criminal proceedings by Mr Justice Nichols at the criminal trial was at the lightest end of the sentencing range for the defence.
‘In passing that sentence he took into account the systemic failings of the hospital and the failings of others who shared responsibility with Dr Bawa-Garba for the treatment of Jack. This included that the unit was a busy ward. The communication of Jack’s lab results was delayed because the hospital’s bio-lab computer system was not working on the day. There was not full staff on the unit the whole time and a nurse assigned to the care of Jack when on duty was herself guilty of gross negligence manslaughter as a result of her failings.
‘Other multiple systemic failings were identified in the hospital investigation following the events of the 18 February 2011. The tribunal was just entitled, as Mr Justice Nichols had deemed, in determining Dr Bawa-Garba’s sentence, to take in to account in determining the appropriate sanction, systemic failings on the part of the hospital as well as matters of personal mitigation. It follows that the tribunal was not disrespecting the jury’s verdict rather it was conducting a invaluable exercise to determine what sanctions to protect the public, the tribunal made no error.’
Dr Bawa-Garba said: ‘I am very pleased with the outcome but I want us to pay tribute and remember Jack a wonderful little boy who started this story. I want to let the parents know that I am sorry for my role in what has happened to Jack. And I also want to acknowledge and give gratitude to people around the world from the public to the medical community who have supported me, I am overwhelmed by their generosity and I am really grateful for that.’
Commenting on yesterday’s judgement, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said: ‘We welcome today’s judgment of this important case reversing the erasure of Dr Bawa-Garba from the medical register and restoring the decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal. We recognise the hard work of all involved, including Dr Bawa-Garba’s legal team, in securing a positive outcome. The BMA was pleased to be able to intervene in this case on behalf of the entire medical profession. We hope that Dr Bawa-Garba will now rightly be given space to resume her career.
‘Today’s judgment vindicates the BMA’s position that the MPTS is the right body to determine a doctor’s future in these complex and difficult cases, in which wider systemic pressures affecting patient safety need to be considered. It demonstrates that our call, acted upon by the government, to remove the GMC’s right of appeal of MPTS decisions, was the right one.
‘The judgement is a wake-up call for the government that action is urgently needed to properly resource the NHS and address the systemic pressures and constraints that doctors are working under and which compromise the delivery of high-quality, safe patient care.’