You are on page 1of 3

SUNDAY MERCURY FEBRUARY 6.

2OO5
BY TOM UTELLS
A BRAVE NHS whistleblower
could land a record damages
Pay-out
from the General
Medical Council
-
after it
branded her
' mentally
ill' in a
secret smear campaign.
l)i Riia Pal lrent to lhe i\.atchdog fve
l.ars
ago, clairning seriously ill elderly
i,riients
were being helped to die in
\lidland hospitals.
llLri instead of taking her shocking
Lrmplaints seriously, the GNIC tumed
rr her.
i'op ranldng staff openly questioned
hersanity and even talked oflaunching
a probe into n'helher she was lit to
practise.
\o!r Dr Pal could sue for huge damages
aler a
judge
blasted the controversial
Joclors watchdog for acting like a to-
lalitarian regime similar to Stalin s
RLrssia.
Today r^'e reveal the erdraordinary
'lorJ' of horv Britain's leading medical
fegulator led a witch-hunt against a
courageous wi'listleblower
-
co-
0rdiDated b1 a nystery GI{C ligure
calied
'The
Screener'.
Dr Pai. Irorl Sutton Coldlield, recentl]'
ll.oD a landmark coufi case which now
paves the lvay lbr her to sue the GMC.
The preliminary hearing
-
held last
sllrnmer
-
had beL'n brought by the
\ratchdog rvho rraDted to
'strike
out
any lawslr it lrom the psychiatrist before
i r feached ftrll trial.
Instead their case which cost them
184.000 in legallees
-was
thror
''n
out
aDd, despite lengthy taiks between the
tlvo parties, a settlement appears
Lrnlikely.
Shotkwoves
Nolv Dr Pal is understood to be Lron-
lidering lodging a potentially huge
claim for damages over data protection
brcaches. human ights abuses and
defamation.
l-ast night, the watchdog refrsed to
coniment on our story. saying oni]':
'Due
to tlle ongoing iegal action in this
lase we arc not able to cornfient.
"
But DrPal's case will send shocklvaves
thlorghthe medical prolession whichis
slill reelingftomrecentdisasten such as
serial killer Dr Harold Shipman and the
drild orgaDs rflmDon icandal,
she ktd the sunday l\,Iercury:
"The
1r'iratmentl havc receivecl at the hands of
ihe GN{C has been thr r4'orse than that
ructed out to a rlass murderer.
''Yer
I have never killed a patient, nor
have there been any complaints against
ne. '
-,\lthough Dr Pal's court battie has
just
come to light, the case actually dates
back to April2000.
'l'hen
a
junior doctor, she broke ranks
ro go public and highlight a stdng ol
alleged patient abuses in Midland
hospitais.
She claimed dt'lng patients had medi-
cation withfuawn by medical staff to
basten death and iree up beds lr'hile
others, who were also seriouslyill. were
given drugs to kill them.
Dr Pal. noiv 32, later submitted a dos-
siel of evidence to the GMC irnd prcm-
ised to co-operate with their investiga-
tion into her allegations.
But after the watchdog refused to meet
her on her oum terms in Bi-rmingham,
the busy doctor pulled out aftet becom-
ing f-rusbated with the la(k of support
she was getting.
She had also been advised by a GMC
insider to be wary of being interuiewed
by a watchdog whose reputation was
already ulder scrutiny because of its
handling of complaints against its own
doctors.
Asthemonthsdrew on, hercomplaints
were seemlngly forgotten by the GMC.
Butthenin 2003DrP? nowworking
as a psychiatrist
-received
a tip-offrbat
high-powered figures at the watchdog
were probing her own conduct.
She issued a request under the Data
Protection Act, demanding the GMC
hand over allfiles they held on her.
Astonishingly, h'henshe receivedthem
llr Pal lound a series ofinternal memos
questioning her saniq' and litnass to
practise as a doctor.
Nor,ember 30 200O, read:
"...She
may
be sullering fIom rnental illness...Her
correspondence,
particularly the docu_
meDts I have llagged, ce{ainly demoD-
strate that Dr Pal is ertremely
irational...
"There
nltst be some concern about
this doctor having direct access to
pat i enl s. '
The Drernos, which went right to the
top of ihe GMC, shon'ed how
'l'he
Screeller' tded to use his or her pofier to
smear Dr Pal.
Another merno. Irom
'the
ScreeDer'.
readr
"...I
may be able to make discreet
confidcntial enquiries
labout
Dr Pal]
which I will do and then discuss...
'
A year later, in October 2001, discus-
sions over Dr Pal were STTLL
gomg on
inside GMC headquaders.
A memo
'The
ScreeDer' n'rote said:
'l
do tlink that she could have a hei:lth
problem. She is cetainly intemperate
and possibly paranoid..."
And despite having no prcof n'hatso-
ever that Dr Pal was sullering lrom any
nental health problems, the GMC kept
thc memos on frle.
Foilolr'ing her Data Protection Act
requcst, a furiousDrPal demanded the
GtrIC delete the records but they refused.
She then hredatop barrister and took
the ra'atchdog to court
-
where she
Dolched up victory in the first legal
skirmish.
Judge
Charles Harris,
QC,
ruled the
cMc had no grounds lbr dismissing Dr
Pal s claims before they rcached court
and told her she had every right to late
the matter to a lull
jury trial.
He aiso awarded her i18,o00 in costs
and iaunched a withefing attack on the
conductofthe GMC.
Judge
Ilarrls said:
"lt
lthe
GMCI is like a
totalitadan regime: anybody r'vho criti-
cises itis said to be prima facie mentally
ill
-
$'hat used to h appen in Russia...
''Costs
-at
leastthe delendants costs
were clearly out of hand...some
184.000. This...is a sum which nust. in
my
judgement,
be dilncult to
justitr.
"
Dr Pal told the Mercuryi
"There
has
been no complaint against me by any
patients and my GP verifies that I havc
not been nentally ill and the
iudge
agreed.
"The
entire point centles on
whistleblowing.
"If
whistleblowers are to be treated
with such contempt, then there wjll be
ro-one who will prevent the nert Dr
Harold Shipman.
"It
is due to the catastrophic lailulle of
systems lke the GMC and Depa rtment of
Health that Dr Shipman managed to kill
so many people
-
it ofcourse starts with
disoediting a lr'histleblorver ftom the
outsct.
palients
should be
die if it cosls the
docu-
t/vhO a
such as
REPORT: Health
Sefietary John Feid
tom,wells@mrn.co.uk
RITA Pdl's clash with ihe
GMC contributed to the
downfallof a love-rat Mid.
land MP.
In November 2003 the
Sunday Mercury revealed
how Paul Marsden, Lib
Dem member tor Shrews-
bury and Atcham, had
bi ed to seduce Dr Pal wi i h..
lLlt after the watchdog relused to meet
.r on her own terms in BimiDgham,
r..busy doctor pulled oul aJter becom-
Lg ftustrated with the lack of support
l.1fas geltrng,
ihe had also been advised by a GMC
ider to be wary of beiDg interviewed
i a watchdoq whose reputation was
a string of saucy e-mails,
The psychiatrisl also sen-
sationally claimed the MP
had asked herto begin an
afiair with him
-
in
"l'm
iust
a weak, tlawed
man with a very high sex
drive."
But the shocked medic
reiected his advances and
sent him back to his wife.
The MP has sihce
announced plans
to stand
down at the nert General
Election
They had been exchangcd behveen
three GMC omcials: Catherine Green, a
case worket Peter L].nn, deputy to GMC
chief executive and registrar Finlay
Scott; and Sarah Bedt'r'ell, head o1
screening.
Also heavily involved r'r'as a mysterious
figule kno\
'n
within the CMC as l'he
Scteener',
Despite repeated requests for thc iden-
tity of'The Screelrer' to be publicly
revealed, the GMC have refused to dis-
close it.
But their
job
was to act on behalf of the
president.
Sir Graeme Catto. bJ,
'screen-
Ing rnvesugauons tnto ooctors bLfuKtj
they began to determine $'hether they
should go ahead at all.
A stunned DrPal read hovt' herreiusal
to co-operate with the probe into her
oiginal allegations was naw being
tumed against her.
One memo lrom Mr Ll'nn, dated
help over
difficul-
Dtlg!,
lrr
already under scrutiny because of its
handling olcomplaints againsL lts own
doctors.
Asthe monthsdrew on, hercomplaiots
were seemingly forgotten by the UMC.
But then in 2 003 Dr Pal
-
n ow u'orking
as a psychiatrist
-received
a tip-olTthat
high-powered figures at tlle watchdog
$re probing her owD conduct.
She issued a request under the Data
Protection Act. demanding the cMC
hand over all files they held on her.
Astonishingly, wheu she received lhem
Dr Pal found a series ofinternal memos
questioning
her sanity and fitne.ss to
pmctise as a doctor.
RAT: Paul

You might also like