We have written to the Professional Standards Authority regarding the recent Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) decision in the case of James Gilbert.
The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has taken the rare and serious step of writing to the PSA to urge it to refer this case to the High Court.
We view the eight-month suspension of NHS consultant transplant surgeon Mr Gilbert as ‘woefully inadequate to protect the public, maintain confidence in the medical profession, and uphold proper standards and conduct’.
The MPTS found Mr Gilbert guilty of serious misconduct spanning more than a decade, including non-consensual touching, sexual harassment, racist comments, and abuse of his senior position towards multiple junior colleagues.
In the letter, Dr Matt Kneale, our committee member and former chair, said: “We contend that erasure from the medical register is the only appropriate sanction in this case.
“Mr Gilbert’s misconduct was not a momentary lapse but a deeply ingrained pattern of behaviour persisting over many years and affecting numerous vulnerable junior colleagues.
“This suggests a fundamental flaw in his professional ethics and judgement that cannot be adequately addressed by a brief suspension.”
Dr Kneale said that the current sanction is ‘manifestly inappropriate given the severity, duration, and pattern of the misconduct’.
He added: “It fails to adequately protect future trainees and colleagues from potential harm, and significantly damages public confidence in the medical profession and its regulatory bodies.”
We have urged the PSA to review the case and refer it to the High Court with a request to send it back to the tribunal to consider the sanction of erasure.
“This action would demonstrate an unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of professional conduct, ensuring the safety and dignity of all healthcare professionals, and maintaining public trust in the medical profession.”
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Read our letter in full below.
