Judge Gives GDC Severe Rebuke
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- Published: Tuesday, 25 March 2025 07:21
- Written by Peter Ingle
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For those struggling to keep up with the GDC‘s legal failings, yet another judge has given the GDC yet another severe rebuke.
It was only last November that the GDC received a damming judgement from the Family Court following their repeated breaches of confidentiality during a fitness to practice case. The judgement spoke of the Council’s “lamentable ignorance” and they came close to being the subject of contempt of court proceedings.
In a case of Oops!… They Did It Again, the latest series of GDC failings came to light in a High Court Judgement of March 20th 2025
Mr Justice Fordham comprehensively detailed the Council’s failures in its regulatory role. The case revolves around events following the erasure of a registrant and what appear to be multiple failures by the GDC to meet acceptable standards.
Amongst the findings were that the GDC deliberately excluded the former registrant in its communications with the Court. This has been described as a fundamental breach of procedural fairness.
The GDC’s slowness to act is well known, in this case however there were ‘inexcusable’ procedural delays. The GDC appears to have ignored a Court order for four months. This behaviour was described by Justice Fordham as “without justification” and that it demonstrated “apparent indifference” to the administration of justice.
The Judge also found the GDC’s failure to engage with the former registrant, “difficult to comprehend” as well as displaying, “a concerning lack of diligence” in verifying critical procedural facts.
The Court specifically noted that the GDC’s conduct “fell significantly short of the standards reasonably expected” of a regulator.
The present judgement has indicated that costs will be awarded against the GDC.
In the words of Sunil Abeyewickreme a defence lawyer who specialises in healthcare law and professional disciplinary matters, this has been a damming judgement against the GDC. The Judge’s findings add weight to the criticisms made by many others of the GDC about its approach to due process and fairness. Indeed it suggests that the GDC’s failings can no longer be brushed away as isolated mistakes but bear all the hallmarks of institutional disregard for the core principles of administrative justice.
The GDC’s Interim Executive Director of Legal and Governance, Clare Paget, who joined the GDC in March 2023, departed in March 2025.
In March 2025, giving an address at the BDIA showcase on Friday 14th, GDC Chief Executive Officer, Tom Whiting, made these statements when speaking of his personal priorities:
“I am thinking a lot about what good regulation means” and
“I want to be someone who you feel you can work with.”
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