HCSA has welcomed the steps announced by the Williams Review into Medical Gross Negligence Manslaughter (MGNM), which has reported to the Secretary of State after its investigation into the issues raised by the Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba case.
These will go some way to eliminating the criminalisation of genuine medical error and restoring faith in the system of reflective learning in medical practice.
Dr John West, HCSA lead on MGNM, said: “The HCSA made a lengthy submission to this rapid review and is pleased by the announcement of proposed limitation on the GMC’s powers to appeal the decisions of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service - this power represents an anomaly as it already exists with the Professional Standards Authority.
"HCSA also welcomes the intention to submit unexpected deaths to an investigation by a Medical Examiner.
"There are further additional safeguards which can be taken within the initial GMC/Medical Examiner investigation process which should include ensuring medical errors by Junior Doctors are treated with particular care. We will be pursuing these in forthcoming meetings with the GMC."