- Clare Dyer,
- Gareth Iacobucci
- The BMJ
UK ministers are reportedly drawing up plans to change the law to make it easier to suspend doctors accused of misconduct from practising while they are under investigation.1
The move has been prompted by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, being dissatisfied with the handling of the case of a British-Palestinian doctor, Rahmeh Aladwan, who is currently under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) over allegations of antisemitic remarks. Streeting is also reported to be planning to legislate for a new duty on NHS staff that would specifically prohibit them from making “racist” statements.2
What sparked this?
Aladwan, a trainee in trauma and orthopaedics, sparked outrage on 2 October after claiming that a decision to temporarily restrict emergency department access in Manchester to prioritise victims of the local synagogue attack was evidence of “exceptionalism for Jews.”3 She has also shared a social media post suggesting that the media’s focus on the Manchester terror attack, when compared with coverage of the deaths of Muslims in Gaza, was an example of “Jewish supremacism.”4
Aladwan had previously been before an interim orders tribunal (IOT), held after complaints about earlier comments she had made. At that tribunal hearing on 25 September the GMC argued that her registration should be subject to conditions during the investigation. The tribunal panel disagreed and made no order.
However, after widespread criticism of her more recent comments the GMC has now referred Aladwan’s case back to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). As such, she now faces a new IOT on 23 October.
At the 25 September hearing the GMC’s lawyer pointed to remarks made by Aladwan calling on Jews to denounce Israel or renounce their Israeli citizenship, arguing that the posts appeared to demonise Israelis and Jews. But the IOT decided to impose no order, leaving Aladwan …
