We discuss the disturbing case of Dr. Hadiza Bawa-Garba, a senior paediatrics registrar in the UK who was struck off the the doctors register after being found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence. Her crime? Nothing it would seem that most medical practitioners have not themselves done at some point in their career…
There’s been lots written about this case. Just Google Dr. Bawa-Garba’s name and a barrage of articles will appear. Here’s a good factual review plus an editorial from a former NHS physician, now working in the US, Dr. Saurabh Jha and a trove of additional articles from the British Medical Journal.
We expect this case will continue to incite debate. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this double tragedy.
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Thanks- fortunately this case seems to have a happy ending in that her lifetime ban has been reversed.
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Firstly thank you for the show, I recently discovered it after your episode on the RACP Pomcast. Makes my look commute feel more productive. What blows my mind about this case is the way there have been no culpability placed on the consultant, who knew about the blood gases that were a major part of the case against Dr Bawa-Garba. I am a general medicine advanced trainee in Australia and so feel I would be at a similar level of training to what Dr Bawa-Garba was when this happened. The other day I was summarising all the admissions I had… Read more »
This podcast was the first I had heard of this case and it’s ridiculous how this poor doc was treated. Definitely could have happened to any one of us during the middle of a busy shift- just bad luck.
Great takeaway in that if you’re ever in a similar situation the incentive they push seems clear- lying is more important than self-reflection.
Thank you for a very thoughtful podcast. So many system errors: an assessment unit where the consultant staffing was so stretched there wasn’t an expectation even of an “eyeball” consultant assessment of all patients, never mind a formal review; a failure of the lab system with no robust backup plan (Dr Bawa-Garba had to phone several different numbers to get the blood results; a consultant who himself had only been in post a week, who didn’t know he was on call; a ward where they were so used to inadequate medical staffing to write critical regular meds that the policy… Read more »
Kirsty, thanks so much for your comments and for the link to the RCA. It has made chilling reading and makes the GMC’s decision all the more incomprehensible. We stand with our colleagues in the UK and everywhere where the blame culture thrives. We will never improve our systems and our own performances to any significant degree where such culture exists.
Thank you for the excellent review of this very disturbing case. This case seems bizarre here in the US as it does to you. The application of manslaughter to this case is incomprehensible. There are multiple systemic problems that non physicians cannot fully understand. The presentation of cases like this to a jury of lay persons is a problem but that Ian not different from other highly technical cases. What is the culpability of the mother who essentially gave the enalapril? I don’t know what an e-portfolio or a personal reflection is. We review poor outcomes in M and M… Read more »
An ‘e-potfolio’ is something that trainees fill out on line for their College (or Board in the US). It is meant to keep track of their training requirements and to encourage reflective practice. Nothing happens in a socio-political vacuum and I think that her ethnicity, gender, and religion undoubtedly played a role in the jury verdict. The GMC denies that these factors played a role in their attempts to strike her off the register, citing similar attempts in several other cases (involving doctors of different demographics) where doctors have been found guilty of manslaughter. They claim it is in the… Read more »
to be clear “What is the culpability of the mother who essentially gave the enalapril?” None, this was NOT the mother’s fault…the ward had a policy that it was OK for the parents to give the prescription of an existing drug….without a prescription. Clearly this was bonkers in a child with sepsis…but it was not the Mum’s fault.
You’re absolutely right David. This must be a terrible burden on the family to think they may have contributed in some way to Jack’s death but the policy seems very ill-advised. I’m not a pediatrician but I can’t imagine this is a widespread policy, which I believe has now been changed.
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