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

An interim suspension order may be extended where there is a real risk arising from possible impairment of a doctor’s fitness to practise and the order is necessary after balancing the doctor’s interests against those of the public.

The public interest includes maintaining high standards of conduct in the medical profession and public confidence in it. A continuing police investigation, even if temporarily dormant because the doctor is abroad, may justify protection pending its possible conclusion.

The General Medical Council applied for a further 12-month extension of an interim suspension order made against Dr Yousufuddin by its Interim Orders Panel under the Medical Act 1983. The order followed a police investigation into an alleged attempted murder of the doctor’s child.

The investigation was in abeyance because the doctor had left the United Kingdom, but the evidence was being retained and the case could be revived if he returned. The defendant did not appear or have legal representation. The court had to determine whether the statutory conditions for extending the interim suspension were met and whether the GMC should receive its costs.

1. Interim suspension. The application was granted. The interim suspension of the defendant’s registration was extended for a further 12 months.
2. Under section 41A of the Medical Act 1983, the relevant inquiry was whether, in all the circumstances, there might be impairment of the doctor’s fitness to practise posing a real risk to members of the public, adversely affecting the public interest or affecting the practitioner’s interests, and whether an interim order was necessary after balancing the doctor’s interests against those of the public.
3. The public interest includes maintaining high standards of conduct in the medical profession and maintaining public confidence in that profession. Misconduct, deficient professional performance and adverse physical or mental health are among the statutory bases on which fitness to practise may be impaired under section 35C(2).
4. The criminal investigation remained material notwithstanding its temporary abeyance. The case could be revived if the doctor returned to the United Kingdom, and the evidence was being retained indefinitely. Those circumstances justified continuing protection of the public and the public interest through the interim suspension.
5. The GMC’s costs had been properly served and were suitable for summary assessment. The defendant was ordered to pay the GMC’s costs, summarily assessed at £3,25.50 inclusive of VAT.