Pathologist cleared of misconduct by GMC in Shipman hearing
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《英国医生杂志》
A consultant pathologist who concluded in a postmortem report that a victim of the serial killer general practitioner Harold Shipman had died of natural causes was cleared of serious professional misconduct last week by the General Medical Council ( BMJ 2004;329: 757, 2 Oct).
The GMC's professional conduct committee found that David Bee's postmortem examination of Renate Overton fell below the standard reasonably expected, but did not constitute serious professional misconduct.
Dr Bee's postmortem was criticised as "deeply flawed" by the independent inquiry into Shipman's career. As a result of his report, no coroner's inquest had been held and the last opportunity to question Shipman's administration of morphine had been lost.
Mrs Overton was having an asthma attack when she called Shipman to her home. She died in April 1995 aged 47 at Tameside General Hospital, where Dr Bee was a consultant, after 14 months in a persistent vegetative state.
Her medical records included a note that Shipman had given her morphine. An expert witness told the GMC that the mention of morphine in relation to an asthma patient caused "alarm bells" to ring, since morphine depresses breathing.
Dr Bee, aged 74, who retired in 1995, admitted a series of failures in doing the postmortem examination, including failing to question why Shipman had given morphine or to consult the treating doctors.
Eileen Walker, chairman of the conduct committee, said, "The committee has been impressed by the quality of testimonials that has been put before it, given the fact that you retired from practice in 1995 and have no intention of returning to medical practice.
"The committee further notes that there have been no adverse findings against you during your long medical career."
She said the panel had not allowed themselves to be influenced by the widely publicised events relating to Shipman. They did not wish to speculate what the findings of an inquest into Mrs Overton's death might have been had one been held nor did they want to speculate about what might have happened afterwards.
Ms Walker added, "The committee accepts that had there been any real concern at the time of the postmortem about giving morphine, then one might reasonably expect this to have been properly investigated on admission or during Mrs Overton's 14 month period in hospital.
"The committee have judged your actions against the standard expected of a pathologist in 1995. This was at a time when the index of suspicion relating to healthcare professionals was relatively low.
"The committee accept that the field of pathology has changed considerably since the mid-1990s."
She said the panel were influenced by a privy council judgment in an earlier case where it was said that one incident of negligence by a doctor did not amount to serious professional misconduct.
Shipman killed himself in his prison cell last January while serving life for murdering 15 patients. The Shipman inquiry concluded that he killed at least 215 people.
Six general practitioners who practised near Shipman, in Hyde, Greater Manchester, and countersigned cremation certificates for him are also due to face the GMC.(Clare Dyer, legal corresp)
The GMC's professional conduct committee found that David Bee's postmortem examination of Renate Overton fell below the standard reasonably expected, but did not constitute serious professional misconduct.
Dr Bee's postmortem was criticised as "deeply flawed" by the independent inquiry into Shipman's career. As a result of his report, no coroner's inquest had been held and the last opportunity to question Shipman's administration of morphine had been lost.
Mrs Overton was having an asthma attack when she called Shipman to her home. She died in April 1995 aged 47 at Tameside General Hospital, where Dr Bee was a consultant, after 14 months in a persistent vegetative state.
Her medical records included a note that Shipman had given her morphine. An expert witness told the GMC that the mention of morphine in relation to an asthma patient caused "alarm bells" to ring, since morphine depresses breathing.
Dr Bee, aged 74, who retired in 1995, admitted a series of failures in doing the postmortem examination, including failing to question why Shipman had given morphine or to consult the treating doctors.
Eileen Walker, chairman of the conduct committee, said, "The committee has been impressed by the quality of testimonials that has been put before it, given the fact that you retired from practice in 1995 and have no intention of returning to medical practice.
"The committee further notes that there have been no adverse findings against you during your long medical career."
She said the panel had not allowed themselves to be influenced by the widely publicised events relating to Shipman. They did not wish to speculate what the findings of an inquest into Mrs Overton's death might have been had one been held nor did they want to speculate about what might have happened afterwards.
Ms Walker added, "The committee accepts that had there been any real concern at the time of the postmortem about giving morphine, then one might reasonably expect this to have been properly investigated on admission or during Mrs Overton's 14 month period in hospital.
"The committee have judged your actions against the standard expected of a pathologist in 1995. This was at a time when the index of suspicion relating to healthcare professionals was relatively low.
"The committee accept that the field of pathology has changed considerably since the mid-1990s."
She said the panel were influenced by a privy council judgment in an earlier case where it was said that one incident of negligence by a doctor did not amount to serious professional misconduct.
Shipman killed himself in his prison cell last January while serving life for murdering 15 patients. The Shipman inquiry concluded that he killed at least 215 people.
Six general practitioners who practised near Shipman, in Hyde, Greater Manchester, and countersigned cremation certificates for him are also due to face the GMC.(Clare Dyer, legal corresp)