The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced an urgent review into manslaughter by gross negligence rulings in the NHS. This follows the case of Dr Bawa-Garba who was struck off the medical Register. We will consider any findings relevant to professional regulation that come out of this review.
Michael Guthrie, Director of Policy and Standards said:
'We recognise the circumstances in this case may cause some concern amongst our registrants. However, we would encourage all professionals on our Register to continue to engage in reflective discussions with colleagues about their practise as this can form an important part of their professional development. It is also clear in our Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics that it is a professional’s responsibility to be open and honest when things go wrong and to report concerns about safety.
The vast majority of our registrants practise safely and effectively, sometimes in difficult circumstances. We recognise that sometimes mistakes happen. Our processes are designed to protect the public from those who are not fit to practise. We will, therefore, only act if a professional is found to have fallen below our standards and there are serious concerns about an individual's practise or behaviour.’