The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), along with Dr Anil Jain (Consultant Radiologist ) have successfully lobbied the Medical Defence Union to agree to fund an appeal for Dr Raisah Sawati against the decision of the MPTS to erase her in August 2021.
Her husband, Dr Azhar Khan, (also a junior doctor) said this:
“Our lives have been a nightmare since this all started and it still continues. After the character assassination by the QC hired by the GMC we have been hounded by the press every day. Raisah has matured and has gained insight into her actions: she would never deliberately cause harm to patients under her care. We had hoped that the MPTS panel would have given her the same opportunity to remediate that they have provided to other doctors. Instead of this she has been erased, sacked and nationally humiliated. The system must be kinder and more supportive to trainees in difficulty at the start of their careers. We want to fight this all the way and are grateful to the numerous individuals who include Anil Jain, Jenny Vaughan, Matt Kneale and Amir Hannan who have shown their support along with The Doctors’ Association for the appeal. We hope to also improve the support available to trainees in difficulty, especially early in their careers.”
“Dr Anil Jain, Consultant Radiologist said:
“ I met Dr Raisah Sawati only last week after her ordeal at the MPTS Panel hearing and the vile coverage in media. From a bubbly junior doctor, she has become a shadow of herself, due to her treatment at the hands of GMC and systemic failures in structures which were expected to support her during her training.
I am so pleased that the MDU has agreed to support Raisah appeal against the MPTS Panel judgement. There are challenging times ahead for her and hence going forward she will need support and understanding once the appeal process has been resolved. GMC needs to implement the recommendations of the ‘Fair to Refer’ report and hold the employers to account to deal with any concerns locally and more over ensure that BAME doctors are not refereed to the GMC disproportionately’’.
Dr Jenny Vaughan, Chair, Doctors’ Association UK said:
“To err is human and the system should support our trainees better than it does. The life of a junior doctor is extremely challenging and we think that the GMC should be going above and beyond to demonstrate that it is taking real action after reports like ‘Fair to Refer.’ Ethnic minority doctors invariably face an uphill struggle to be treated fairly by the current system. The job of a doctor often means working under difficult conditions and any personal health problems are often seen as just that- a problem, rather than something which should mean the individual affected gets the help they need. DAUK is also grateful for the support of Chris Day for Raisa’s appeal as he has been through so much himself as a trainee. His experience is invaluable to our campaign.”
Dr Jenny Vaughan
Chair
The Doctors’ Association
Compare and contrast the following case analysis with what happened to Dr Sawati
If we look at cases of erasure in recent times:19/1/21-10/9/21
42 cases of erasure in total
Only 26% cases white Caucasian males struck off due to:
– Manslaughter
– Sexual messages of minors
– Recording others performing sexual acts without permission
– Doping scandal in British Cycling
– Possession of child abuse images and beastality videos
– Making indecent photos and videos of children
– Attempted to engage in a relationship with patients and acted in a sexually motivated manner
– Failure to declare under investigation by GMC
– Failure to notify unable to attend work, drink driving
– Making and possession of indecent images of children
