MEDICO LEGAL M A G A Z I N E
MEDICO -LEGAL NEWS: By Lisa Cheyne, Medico-Legal Manager, SpecialistInfo
Whistleblowing Doctor Wins Legal Battle in the Court of Appeal
A round-up of news in the industry for the third quarter of 2017.
Dr Kevin Beatt, consultant cardiologist, has successfully won his case against Croydon Health Services NHS Trust after he was sacked for raising safety concerns. In his Court of Appeal judgment, Lord Justice Underhill said the NHS trust had classed Dr Beatt as 'a troublemaker' for raising genuine concerns.
Fixed Costs in Clinical Negligence An open letter from AvMA (action against medical accidents) and 8 other patients’ charities calling on the Secretary of State for Health to reconsider proposals on imposing fixed costs in clinical negligence was published in the Daily Telegraph in early May, coinciding with the close of the consultation on 2 May 2017. The letter describes the proposals as 'premature; ill informed; and a threat both to access to justice and patient safety'. For full details see the link below: www.avma.org.uk/news/
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He added: “It is all too easy for an employer to allow its view of a whistleblower as a difficult colleague or an awkward personality to cloud its judgement about whether the disclosures in question do in fact have a reasonable basis.” Dr Beatt was unfairly dismissed in September 2012 and subjected to detriments by the Trust after he blew the whistle about patient safety after the death of a patient, following the suspension of a cardiology nurse in the middle of an operation. The Trust alleged that Dr Beatt's concerns about patient safety were made in bad faith and with an ulterior motive. NHS Resolution are currently updating their whistleblowing policy: w w w. n h s l a . c o m / A b o u t U s / D o c u m e n t s / Master%20Board%20Papers%20May%20 2017%20-%20Part%201.pdf
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