To feel sorry for this doctor?

[HarryStylesismycrack]

I am not in any way downplaying the death of that beautiful little boy and it is clearly acknowledged there were some failures by the doctor in question however AIBU to feel as though this intervention by the GMC into the independent decision making by the MPTS is concerning? It appears to me that the MPTS took into account many things, not just the outcome (which I completely acknowledge is heartbreaking), the fact that this doctor was working the job of several other medical staff in an unfamiliar environment with significant IT issues with no senior input. It feels like this doctor has been made a bit of a scapegoat for huge systemic failures.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/jack-adcock-latest-downs-syndrome-death-doctor-hadiza-babwa-garba-struck-off-general-medical-council-a8177721.html

A different link to a blog by other medical practitioners 54000doctors.org/blogs/an-account-by-concerned-uk-paediatric-consultants-of-the-tragic-events-surrounding-the-gmc-action-against-dr-bawa-garba.html

I really thought she was a goner and the gmc court case in January the final nail in the coffin. Black? female? Muslim with a headscarf? They counted on the profession and the public in general not empathising with her and seeing this miscarriage of justice. I hope she does go onto challenge the original criminal conviction. She hopefully has more of a case than even Dr David Sellu did two years ago.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3953076/amp/They-called-Dr-Death-want-restore-good-surgeon-jailed-alongside-murderers-hospital-buried-evidence-support-case-reveals-agony-finally-cleared-killing-patient.html

Another black doctor made to carry the fall for the multiple failings at his trust. In his case they hid the evidence, whereas for B-G the evidence was there but they forbade it to be mentioned at her trial.

@MingeUterus. I am not advocating for further scapegoating. The information whywhywhy provided suggests that in circumstances like these Drs are allowed to return to work with various conditions attached around their supervision and professional development.This appears to be what will happen to DR BG. I don’t see how disagreeing with that, as I do, and disagreeing with the outcome as it now standard for Dr BG is in any way inconsistent. That somebody can be convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and then return to work as a Dr in the NHS is IMO terrifying.

Most doctors in these circumstances aren't prevented from practice for years, struck off and then required to challenge that decision if they want to return to practice and be treated in the same way as other doctors are louise.

Even leaving aside the gross negligence manslaughter conviction, which clearly we shouldn't because it will have been incredibly traumatic and upsetting, her treatment has been inconsistent with that meted out to other doctors. To say oh well she's now getting the same as everyone else, after having had years of different treatment and having to fight for it, is a nonsensical way to assess the situation. What she suffered in the interim is extremely important here.

I'd share your views about being able to practice after GNM, if it weren't for the clearly evident fact that doctors can be convicted of it when they're being scapegoated for wider failings. It certainly sounds frightening until you look into what actually happened.

Had I been her back in January I would have felt God had abandoned me. But in fact due to the decision yesterday her supporters and senior doctors are now urging her to fight the original conviction, which before January she would not have considered, just been grateful to quietly go back to work. And there is precedent, dr David Sellu was convicted at the old Bailey and went to prison for some years before eventually getting to a place where he could fight the conviction. And he won. And hopefully fingers crossed that’s what she will do.

But she was convicted if this because the evidence of systematic failure wasn't allowed in court.

At the very least she must be able to claim unfair trial?

Imagine being charged with causing death by dangerous driving and being convicted and losing your profession as you can't work with that type of conviction.

Yet in court all they heard was you were undertaking on the motorway.

Yet what doesn't get heard is that you were driving middle lane at 60 - same speed as other cars and overtaking comfortably with everyone else. You pulled over to slow lane in preparation for coming off at the slip road and as you applied brakes to slow down you realise they have failed. The traffic on front in slowing to a stop and you cannot so decide in a split second to pull out into the middle lane. Due to brakes failing you've gone faster than middle lane so have technically undertaken. The middle lane of traffic then slows because of slow lane feeding in as you at slip road entrance to motorway. You're failing brakes cause an accident in which a young child dies.
You happen to be on your way home from the car garage where your car was serviced and mechanic had changed brake pads and had adjusted brakes and not tightened fully.

Would you fully expect a prison sentence and loss of employment when it's a series of events which you are not entirely responsible for because they contributing facto s were not allowed to be presented in court?

My post was in response to Louise ^

Important to note as well that time out of work is likely to have had an impact on pension and career progression, as well of course as on salary. These are things that, had Dr BG been treated in the same way as other doctors, she wouldn't have had to experience.

@youarenotkiddingme excellent post

That somebody can be convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and then return to work as a Dr in the NHS is IMO terrifying

Surely a person can refuse to be seen/treated by her if they wish.

louise that part that should terrify you is that everyone who has worked as a junior doctor is appalled by the original charges because they recognise that the conditions she was working in are unsafe and unworkable. It should terrify you these conditions are clearly continuing in the NHS and that some consultants are still not coming in when asked. 100 patients, no orientation and a broken lab system is beyond unworkable. It should terrify you that the NHS is crumbling and doctors are the scapegoats for it.

Surely a person can refuse to be seen/treated by her if they wish

Well you can but depending on the hospital, at a weekend the only other paed in the hospital may be someone in the GP training scheme doing a 4 month paed rotation.

I would not have a problem with Dr Bawa Garba were I or any member of my family to be treated by her. She strikes me as a dedicated professional who was working in a system which failed both her and Jack. She was in an impossible situation. She reflected on how she dealt with that, acknowledged her own failings and could see what she could have done differently. She was set up to fail by a system which was broken, and she has been failed since then by those who should have supported her.

That she has received so much support from other medical professionals, around the world, speaks volumes.

Same. I'd be glad to have her treat me or mine.

@youarenotkiddingme. Thanks for your post with the undertaking analogy.

To answer, if I killed somebody by driving dangerously, yes I would expect to go to prison. I would expect that, no matter what other circumstances might have contributed to the death being caused. From your scenario, the failure to ensure that the brakes were working properly before I drove my car at 60 mph would be my own.

I don’t think that Dr BG hould be held solely responsible, of course not, but people must be responsible for what they do and what they fail to do.

It’s the consultant who should have been ultimately responsible.

He knew it was busy, that she was new and that it was understaffed and didn’t stay to help.

He knew the blood gas result and didn’t do a thing. He didn’t:

• organise ICU/HDU review, which could have been done over the phone
• phone Dr BG to discuss them with her and make sure she was able to leave the 99 other patients to review him. Bearing in mind she was also doing bloods, iv lines, a lumbar puncture on those other patients
• come in to help.

I would have no issue with Dr BG looking after my kids but this consultant clearly doesn’t give a fuck.

There’s been an editorial in the Australian paeds medical journal which has been very scathing of him and his complete lack of support.

@LouiseCollins28

But Dr BG wasn't responsible for the death in this case. The death in this case was caused by the inappropriate administration of the Enalapril. How could she have been expected to respond to a situation that appears to have only come to light in postmortem toxicology? This drug was most likely administered by the patient's parents, every single drug administered by a nurse or doctor leaves several paper trails. Doctors record written direction for drug name, dose and route when prescribing, drugs have been to be booked out from stores, administration is filled in on patient records at point of administration... the fact no paper trail exists means it was not administered by hospital staff. The parents know what they did and will have to live with it. There's no benefit in proving/obtaining a criminal conviction against the parents however so I can understand why that's not been pursued.

People and children unfortunately die every single day in hospitals. The fact that this can't be prevented by doctor's doesn't make them responsible and this scapegoating is a travesty of justice.

I would have no issue with dr BG treating my children. The original conviction was a huge miscarriage of justice.

RichSheffield, where does it say that the Enalapril was the cause of death.

With systemic infection present enalapril will compound the effect of lowering blood pressure to the point where the kidneys fail and then the heart fails to receive sufficient blood flow and then you have a cardiac arrest.

The patient had been beginning to show good signs of recovery following the correct treatment from Dr Bawa‐Garba (fluids and antibiotics) until this drug was administered.

This case is already part of clinical decision modules taught to clinicians around the country and I suspect will be for some time!

One of the most troubling parts of this case was that as all good clinicians do Dr Bawa‐Garba performed a reflective practice of the events that led up to this incident. When you write one of these you try to be as critical as possible about yourself because it's for you to develop yourself with hindsight. Reflective practice is one of the bedrocks of safe medicine and good clinical practice. The way this document was used as evidence against the doctor could actively prevent/discourage doctors from doing similar in future and this will only serve to worsen healthcare.

But Louise my point (which I think your deliberately avoiding) is that you didn't know the problem with your brakes. They failed because they weren't tightened properly and came loose as you drove.

But if you are a complete maytr who would go to jail for something that wasn't your fault - crack on

I work with children with severe LD and we have to use restraint at times.
At these moments we are also so highly self critical of ours and others actions that may have led to the eventual distress of the young person.
Even down to "could we have worded that differently".

Great clinicians will always seek to make their practice perfect.
No one can possibly be perfect.
Parents demanding such level of practice are part of the puzzle in the decline in ability to employ teachers and medical staff etc.

No one wants to do a job where they work 70 hours a week and cant make human mistakes without fear of consequence.

In this case the parents themselves say J was improved in the evening and they thought he'd be able to go home the following day.

They themselves know it all changed after the medication was given.

Everyone knows Dr BG had nothing to do with the medication.

@LouiseCollins28

The original verdict made the NHS a much more dangerous place to work. Doctors and nurses are leaving in their droves because we're just not prepared to go to prison for coming to work and doing our best in a dangerous system.

She's a convicted criminal by virtue of a miscarriage of justice whereby the jury was presented with no contextual evidence. The manslaughter charge should have been brought against the trust, not Dr BG.

I doubt very much that she's unemployable. Gifted paediatric doctors don't grow on trees and, once all the dust has settled, an employer who understands the case will most definitely offer her a job.