The DAUK have produced a comprehensive written submission to the GMC commissioned review into Gross Negligence Manslaughter and Culpable Homicide in healthcare. Our submission and attendance at a working group looking into the issues seek to move the profession forwards towards a just culture underpinned by a ‘Learn not Blame’ ethos when incidents occur.
The Doctors’ Association UK is looking for a new Secretary. We are an independent, non-partisan lobbying group of doctor activists and we like to think we are a thoroughly nice bunch! We are looking for someone passionate about advocating for doctors who would like to bolster our campaigns. This may include lobbying institutions such as the GMC, meeting with members of parliament, taking a role in our flagship campaign #learnnotblame and advocating for our profession via the media. We are hoping to extend membership to all UK doctors in the near future (watch this space!) and as Secretary you would also look after our membership lists.
Dr Philippa Whitford MP joins The Doctors’ Association UK in leading the call of over 1200 UK doctors for a public investigation into the GMC’s handling of the Bawa-Garba case. Collectively, we call for the GMC to take responsibility for its actions and learn valuable lessons from the outcome of this case. Applying a genuinely reflective approach, as is expected of doctors in their practice, would be a significant step in restoring the confidence and trust in the GMC as a regulatory body.
Dr Cicely Cunningham, DAUK’s Learn Not Blame Lead, in The Guardian: “In 2015, Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter for her part in the death of six-year-old Jack Adcock from sepsis. She was subsequently struck off the medical register after the doctors’ regulatory body, the General Medical Council, argued that the conviction meant that she could not be fit to practise. The court of appeal ruled on Monday that Bawa-Garba should be reinstated. I believe it was the right decision.”
DAUK Chair, Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden speaking to BBC Newsnight about the case of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba and the tragic death of Jack Adcock.
The Doctors’ Association UK welcomes today’s Court of Appeal verdict in the case of Bawa-Garba vs the GMC as a small step towards a better NHS for patients and doctors alike. Today’s verdict shows that pursuing Dr Bawa-Garba’s erasure through the courts was a serious error of judgement on the part of Mr Charlie Massey. The GMC has shown it cannot be trusted to take a balanced and non-punitive approach in the context of system failures.
The message from the GMC at Dr Bawa-Garba’s appeal was clear; that systemic failures should not have been taken into account when determining whether an otherwise excellent doctor should be struck off. We now find ourselves in the unprecedented situation where doctors feel that on any given day in the NHS, that they too could be criminally convicted and pursued by their regulator in the courts to ensure that they will never practice medicine again. The GMC has shown it cannot be trusted to take a balanced and non-punitive approach in the context of system failures.