General Medical Council & Anor v Gilbert
[2025] EWHC 802 (Admin)
03 Apr 2025
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On 3 April 2025, Calver J handed down judgment in the controversial case of James Gilbert, formerly a senior consultant surgeon at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Mr Gilbert had appeared over 19 days before a Medical Practitioners Tribunal (“MPT”) in August 2024 facing allegations of misconduct in relation to six of his colleagues. The misconduct included racist comments about patients and sexual harassment of junior medical colleagues, some of whom were being trained by him. The majority of the allegations were found proved, but the MPT decided that a period of suspension of eight months (without a review of fitness to practice before the expiry of the suspension) was sufficient to protect the public interest.
The result was met with dismay by, among others, four of the female doctors who had provided evidence before the MPT. In an open letter to the Secretary of State for Health dated 23 August 2024, the doctors criticized the sanction for trivializing “the seriousness of sexual misconduct and racism (the latter was labelled “low level” by the tribunal) in medicine - sending a loud and wholly unacceptable message to perpetrators, victims and the general public alike.”
The General Medical Council (“GMC”) exercised its right of appeal and succeeded on all its grounds: overturning two of the MPT decisions not to uphold allegations and leading the Court to quash the sanction and substitute a 12-month suspension (this time with a review). Calver J found that the MPT wrongly failed to take into account or attach sufficient weight to: the fact that some of the sexual harassment took place during clinical procedures which could have created a risk to patient safety; and the impact of the sexual misconduct on his victims. Instead, the MPT attached too much weight to evidence of mitigation.
Ivan Hare KC represented the GMC in its appeal before the High Court.
The Judgment is available here.
