Outrage as convicted docs allowed to carry on practising

Medics convicted of sex offences, drug trafficking and fraud are still treating patients

Hundreds of doctors convicted of serious crimes are being allowed to carry on practising because it is against their human rights to boot them out of the profession.

A Sunday Post investigation has revealed more than 750 GPs, surgeons and other doctors have kept their jobs despite being found guilty of offences including taking indecent images of kids, drug trafficking and fraud.

Medical chiefs have said they cannot automatically ban all convicted doctors as it could breach their human rights.

Campaigners last night reacted with fury to the revelations.

Roger Goss, co-director of Patient Concern, said: “Human rights should not allow doctors to get away with still practising after being convicted of these crimes.

“There are shocking convictions for violence and possessing images of children. The fact they have not been struck off is an outrage.”

The GMC released the number of criminal records held by practicing medics in response to our freedom of information request.

It revealed 761 medics were still practising in October this year, despite accumulating 856 convictions between them.

They include one doctor who took indecent photographs of a child, two with convictions for possessing vile child porn, two for trafficking drugs and three for grievous bodily harm.

Our investigation also discovered 31 offences of assault, three cases of doctors possessing dangerous weapons, six of harassment and two of child cruelty or neglect.

There have been seven convictions for doctors caught picking up prostitutes and a dozen for violent medics attacking their partners.

A doctor with a record for perjury has been allowed to carry on working as has another convicted of perverting the course of justice.

A massive 184 of the convictions have been for dangerous driving, 330 for drink-driving and four for driving under the influence of drugs.

Other convictions include forgery, fraud, making threats to kill and violent disorder, including rioting.

By law, doctors have to go before a MPTS “fitness to practise” hearing after receiving a serious conviction. But in many cases, they have been allowed to carry on practising while it issues a warning or temporary suspension.

And the convictions of more than 200 other doctors have not even been made public by the GMC, because hearings were held in secret.

This is because their crimes were related to health issues such as depression and the watchdog is bound by law to “respect the doctor’s confidentiality”, a spokesman said.

He said any restrictions on their working conditions such as not being allowed to work with under 18s appear on the online register.

Health chiefs at the GMC are looking for a way to automatically ban doctors from working, without a hearing, if they are guilty of serious crimes including sex offences.

Currently, a hearing has to be held before they are struck off the medical register so the GDC doesn’t breach human rights legislation.

Patients Association chief executive, Katherine Murphy demanded more is done to stop dodgy doctors from working.

She said: “Patients need to be able to put their complete trust in the doctor treating them.

“Discovering that they have a conviction for making child porn images, drug trafficking or for domestic violence will only erode that trust.”

Labour MP Grahame Morris, a member of the Health Select Committee, said he was “shocked” at our revelations.

He said: “I cannot envisage any circumstances whereby an individual with convictions for sex offences or violence is a fit and proper person to practice medicine.

“However, not every conviction would automatically mean that a person is unfit to practise. This is an issue that the Health Select Committee will want to pursue with the GMC during our annual accountability hearings.”

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: “Any doctor who receives a custodial sentence is automatically referred to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service which now hears all cases pursued by the GMC.

“Most doctors with criminal convictions are removed from the medical register or suspended for a time and most can only return to work under strict conditions.

“For serious convictions the GMC will almost always call for the doctor to be removed from the register.”

The GMC has now agreed with the Government that it can appeal a decision by the panel through the courts if it believes the public is not being protected.

Mr Dickson said: “We are also seeking powers to remove doctors from the register without the need for a hearing if they have committed very serious offences which are incompatible with practising”