Killer doctors could escape open hearings at watchdog
Doctors convicted of serious crimes including murder and rape could in future escape public hearings before the medical watchdog, it was revealed today.
Those accused of less serious misconduct could also avoid having their cases openly scrutinised, under new proposals from the General Medical Council.
At present, a public hearing is held before a GMC panel in every case, even if a doctor under investigation voluntarily asks to be removed from the medical register, but if the proposals are agreed doctors convicted in a criminal court would be struck off automatically.
In every other dispute, the accused could escape publicity if he or she agreed in advance to accept a punishment proposed by the regulator.
Cases would only be heard in public where the allegations or suggested penalty are disputed. Otherwise, the results of each inquiry would be posted on the GMC's website.
The GMC announced the proposals in response to rising costs and a heavier workload. It hears an average of 22 cases a day, split between venues in London and Manchester. The regulator said it received 7,000 complaints last year, up from 4,100 10 years ago. In the same period, the cost of investigations into malpractice rose from £15 million to almost £44 million. Other money-saving options include holding all hearings in Manchester to take advantage of cheaper office space.
A consultation document on the possible changes said public hearings "often result in a great deal of stress and anxiety for both the doctors involved and the witnesses".
It continued: "Media coverage inevitably highlights the most serious cases and sometimes includes serious allegations about doctors which subsequently prove to be unsubstantiated." It added that the publicity "may give the false impression that a large proportion of doctors behave inappropriately".
Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the GMC, said: "The purpose of our fitness to practise work is to protect patients. We believe that in some, but not all, cases we do not need to hold a public hearing in order to protect the public.
"This is especially the case if the doctor agrees with the sanction put forward by the GMC or a doctor has been convicted of a serious crime like murder, in this case we believe their name should be removed from the medical register immediately and this information made public on our website."
