General Medical Council, R (on the application of) v Kemm

Where a registered doctor is affected by illness and the available information does not yet establish fitness to practise, an interim suspension order may properly be extended while appropriate medical assessment remains outstanding. The court may extend the order where the doctor is unable to attend necessary consultations and suspension is required to protect the public pending resolution of the health case. The order may be continued by consent, but the court must remain satisfied that continuation is appropriate.

The General Medical Council applied for a further 12-month extension of an interim suspension order affecting the defendant doctor’s registration. The order had originally been made in April 2005 and continued on 5 October 2005. The case concerned the doctor’s health, rather than alleged misconduct. He suffered from a disorder requiring psychiatric care, was unwell, and had been unable to attend consultations intended to assess whether he remained fit to practise. He consented to continuation of the order but did not attend the hearing.

1. The application was granted. The interim suspension order was extended for a further 12 months, expiring on 12 January 2007.
2. The court accepted that the case was a health case rather than a misconduct case. The doctor’s illness, his need for psychiatric care, and his inability to attend the necessary consultations meant that his fitness to continue practising had not been resolved.
3. In those circumstances, it was appropriate that he should remain suspended from practice, at least until the position was clarified. The court considered continuation appropriate even apart from the doctor’s consent.