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GMC is stripped of right to appeal against tribunal decisions

BMJ 2018; 361 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2572 (Published 11 June 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;361:k2572

Linked Opinion

Terence Stephenson on the Williams’ review—the chance to make our health system the safest and best must not be missed

  1. Clare Dyer
  1. The BMJ

The General Medical Council (GMC) will lose its right to appeal to the High Court against decisions by medical practitioners tribunals that it considers too lenient.

The move by the Department of Health and Social Care for England follows a recommendation from a rapid review of gross negligence manslaughter prosecutions against healthcare professionals in England, published on 11 June.1

The review, chaired by Norman Williams, former president of the Royal College of Surgeons, concluded that the GMC’s right to appeal, which took effect on 31 December 2015, had had “significant unwelcome and unintended consequences.”

The review was set up by the health and social care secretary, Jeremy Hunt, after an outcry from the medical profession over the case of Hadiza Bawa-Garba, a junior doctor who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter over the death of a 6 year old …

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