Hadiza Bawa-Garba: Doctor guilty of child's manslaughter by negligence to return to work

The junior doctor found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of six-year-old can return to work after a tribunal restored her to the medical register.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba will be required to work under supervision for 24 months when she returns to her role as a paediatrics registrar from February 2020, when her maternity leave ends.

The decision by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service comes just over a year after she was struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC), sparking a backlash from the medical community and a successful appeal.

The tribunal said that Dr Bawa-Garba posed a “low risk to patients” and had taken steps to remedy professional shortcomings that contributed to Jack Adcock's death from sepsis eight years ago.

However, it noted her fitness to practise remained “impaired”, largely due to spending so long away from frontline patient care since her conviction and suspension in 2015.

“The tribunal was satisfied that the imposition of these conditions on Dr Bawa-Garba’s registration will be sufficient to allow her safe and successful return to practice and to also adequately protect the public,” the verdict said.

She will return at a lower training grade than when she began and a review after the supervision period ends will determine whether she is fit to work unsupervised or whether further action is needed.

Speaking at the tribunal, Dr Bawa-Garba said she was “truly sorry” for her part in Jack’s death.

The boy's mother Victoria responded by saying that the apology was “eight years too late”.

An earlier investigation found that the six-year old, who had Down’s syndrome and a heart condition, was showing “clear indications” of sepsis while under Dr Bawa-Garba’s care at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011.

However, these were missed and diagnosed as gastroenteritis and dehydration. Dr Bawa-Garba was also found to have confused Jack with another patient who had a “do not attempt resuscitation” order, potentially delaying CPR, though this was not found to have contributed to his death.

Dr Bawa-Garba was given a two-year suspended sentence but the MPTS did not initially recommend she be struck off.

However, the GMC overturned this decision, sparking a backlash in the medical community. Many doctors said she was being made a scapegoat for an unsafe system that left her covering several wards without support from a senior consultant.

This led to a fundraising effort to support her appeal. Then health secretary, Jeremy Hunt also launched a review of manslaughter by gross negligence laws, over fears that punitive sanctions could prevent staff raising the alarm about preventable medical errors.

Dr Jenny Vaughan, law and policy officer at the Doctors’ Association UK, which helped support the appeal, said while Jack should have received better care, Dr Bawa-Garba was working in “appalling conditions”.

“There is a culture of blame in the NHS at the moment which, if left unchecked, will mean patient safety is not what it should be as staff will be too scared to admit their mistakes,” she added. “It’s right that Dr Bawa-Garba is going to be restored to the medical register as the hospital too was at fault and should have provided better care. We are calling for a just culture so that the system here is made safer, as locking up individuals achieves nothing.”

A GMC spokesperson said: ‘We would like to acknowledge how difficult this process has been for the Adcock family and our thoughts are with them. The GMC and Dr Bawa-Garba’s representatives both submitted to the medical practitioners tribunal that her fitness to practise remains impaired due to the length of time she has been out of practice. It is important the doctor’s return to practice is safely managed.

“The tribunal agreed, making a finding of impairment, and they have imposed conditions on Dr Bawa-Garba’s registration for two years in order to allow her to return safely to practice.”