Doctor convicted over death of boy, 6, wins appeal

A paediatrician who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after the death of six-year-old boy has today won her appeal over the decision to strike her off.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba fought a decision made in January by two High Court judges to substitute erasure for the lesser sanction of a year’s suspension imposed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) in June last year.

Their ruling followed a successful appeal by the General Medical Council (GMC), which argued that suspension was ‘not sufficient’ to protect the public or maintain public confidence in the medical profession.

Little Jack Adcock, of Glen Parva, Leicestershire – who had Down’s Syndrome and a heart condition – died at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011 after he developed sepsis.
Dr Bawa-Garba celebrated her successful appeal, telling BBC’s Panorama today: ‘I’m very pleased with the outcome but I want to pay tribute and remember Jack Adcock, a wonderful little boy that started the story.

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‘I want to let the parents know that I’m sorry for my role in what has happened to Jack.

I also want to acknowledge and give gratitude to people around the world from the public to the medical community who have supported me. I’m very overwhelmed by the generosity and I’m really grateful for that.’

After a 2015 trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Dr Bawa-Garba was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years.

The sentencing judge said that neither she not a nurse who was on duty at the time ‘gave Jack the priority which this very sick boy deserved’.