swarb.co.uk - law index
These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.
Health Professions - From: 1960 To: 1969
This page lists 9 cases, and was prepared on 27 May 2018.
Fox v General Medical Council [1960] 3 All ER 225; [1960] UKPC 21; [1960] 1 WLR 1017
1960
PC
Lord Radcliffe
Health Professions
The appeal by a doctor from the disciplinary committee of the GMC to the board of the Privy Council lies of right by the statute and the terms of statute do not limit or qualify the appeal in any way, so that the appellant is entitled to claim that it is in a general sense nothing less than a re-hearing of his case and a review of the decision. Beyond a bare statement of its findings of fact, the Disciplinary Committee does not in general give reasons for its decision as in the case of a trial in the High Court by judge alone from which an appeal by way of re-hearing lies to the Court of Appeal.
The role of such a legal assessor to the committee is restricted to advising on questions of law, and he plays no part in the decision-making process. Lord Radcliffe said: "There is no judge to conduct the proceedings, to direct the jury on matters of law or to sum up for them on issues of fact. Although the Disciplinary Committee has the assistance of a legal assessor at its hearing, as required by the Act, it is the President of the court and not he who is in charge of the proceedings, and his duties are confined to advising on questions of law referred to him, and to interventions for the purpose either of informing the committee of any irregularity in the conduct of their proceedings which comes to his knowledge, or of advising them when it appears to him that, but for such advice, there is a possibility of a mistake of law being made."
Medical Act 1956
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Felix v General Dental Council [1960] AC 704; [1960] 2 All ER 391; [1960] 2 WLR 934
1960
PC
Lord Jenkins
Health Professions
A restricted meaning should be given to the phrase "infamous conduct in a professional respect" by adding the qualifier that the conduct must be of such a kind as is "deserving the strongest reprobation" and "so heinous as to merit . . the extreme professional penalty of striking-off".
Improper conduct is conduct which falls short of "infamous conduct". "It is constituted by something less than serious professional conduct that is nevertheless conduct which would reasonably be regarded as improper by professional colleagues of good repute and competency".
1 Citers
Mitchell and Edon (HM Inspectors of Taxes) v Ross ; Mitchell and Haddock v Hirtenstein and similar [1961] UKHL TC_40_11
6 Jul 1961
HL
Income Tax, Health Professions
Income Tax-Part-time specialists under the National Health Service Act, 1946-Whether remuneration assessable under Schedule D or under Schedule E-Deduction-Expenses.
[ Bailii ]
Weiz v General Medical Council [1963] UKPC 1
17 Jan 1963
PC
Health Professions
(The Disciplinary Committee of The General Dental Council)
[ Bailii ]
McCoan v General Medical Council; PC 1964 - [1964] 1 WLR 1107
Sivarajah v General Medical Council [1964] 1 All ER 504; [1964] 1 WLR 112
1964
PC
Lord Guest
Health Professions
The board considered the duty of the legal advisor to the disciplinary committee of the General Medical Council: "The legal assessor is, however, in no sense in the position of a judge summing up to a jury, nor is the committee's function analogous to that of a jury. The legal Assessor's duties are confined to "advising on questions of law referred to him, and to interventions for the purpose either of informing the committee of any irregularity in the conduct of their proceedings which comes to his knowledge, or of advising them when it appears to him that, but for such advice, there is a possibility of a mistake of law being made' (Fox v General Medical Council). The committee are masters both of the law and of the facts."
General Medical Council (Legal Assessors) Rules 1980 (SI 1980/941)
1 Cites
1 Citers
Moore v General Dental Council [1964] UKPC 51
25 Nov 1964
PC
Health Professions
The Disciplinary Committee of The General Dental Council
[ Bailii ]
Bhattacharya v General Medical Council [1967] 2 AC 259
1967
PC
Lord Hodson
Health Professions
The Board rejected an argument that the disciplinary committee of the GMC were wrong in principle to find the appellant guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect where he contended that the doctor's intimate relationship began before the woman became his patient. The tendency of conduct to debase or degrade the standing and reputation of the profession will vary from case to case, that there may be cases when the maintenance of a long-standing, pre-existing association can be regarded as much less serious than those when the professional relationship has deteriorated into an improper association, but that this was not to exclude the former from the category of those cases which could be made the subject of disciplinary action. But in each of these cases the improper relationship continued after the professional relationship had been established, and it was this fact that formed the basis of the allegation of professional misconduct.
1 Citers
Lawther v The Council of The Royal College Veterinary Surgeons; PC 27-May-1968 - [1968] UKPC 16; [1968] 1 WLR 1441