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编号:11355147
GMC suggests treatment of pathologist might have been too lenient
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     A retired pathologist cleared last month of serious professional misconduct over a postmortem examination carried out on a patient of the serial killer GP Harold Shipman may have his acquittal reviewed by the High Court.

    A professional conduct committee of the General Medical Council exonerated David Bee over the postmortem examination of Renate Overton, which concluded that she died of natural causes, although she was asthmatic and her notes said that Shipman had administered morphine ( BMJ 2004;329: 820, 9 Oct).

    But last week the GMC itself announced that it had highlighted the finding to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, the watchdog on regulatory bodies in the health field, in case it wanted to exercise its powers to refer "unduly lenient" cases to the High Court.

    Pathologist Dr David Bee

    Credit: PA

    A GMC spokeswoman said all decisions were routinely sent to the council for consideration, though only exceptional cases were highlighted.

    "This is the first time we have publicly stated that we have highlighted a decision to them. This statement was made in response to significant media interest. It would appear in this instance that the doctor admitted to a serious departure from good medical practice, and a finding of not guilty may be unduly lenient.

    "This was an exceptional case. If necessary we will continue to highlight cases to where there is a view that the decision made by a PCC panel may be unduly lenient. However, we expect this to be a rare occurrence.

    "The decision was not made in response to any outside pressures. All professional conduct committee decisions are examined by the GMC, and any that raise a cause for concern are put before an internal audit group which is led by council members. The decision to refer this case was taken by the president of the GMC after internal discussions including members of this group."(Clare Dyer, legal corresp)