67 doctors were identified in an investigation by NHS watchdog
Care Quality Commission said they illegally signed blank abortion forms
But none of them will be brought before a fitness to practise hearing
Daily Mail
Dozens of doctors found to be signing off abortions for women they had never met will not face any disciplinary action, it was revealed yesterday.
The 67 doctors were identified in an investigation by NHS watchdog the Care Quality Commission as having illegally signed blank abortion forms, which should be filled in only once they have a thorough understanding of a woman’s circumstances.
One of the doctors had signed so many blank forms that they were still being used by the abortion clinic four years after he left.
All 67 were referred to the General Medical Council but a Freedom of Information request has now established that none of them will be brought before a fitness to practise hearing, where they could be disciplined, suspended, or struck off.
The GMC has also refused to pass the names to the police, even though the offence can merit a jail sentence. [Full Text]
The cases here involved unethical referrals for abortion, and, possibly, offences against the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. The General Medical Council has declined to discipline or even caution the physicians involved, though they could hardly have been aware that they were acting improperly. It remains to be seen if the General Medical Council will take the same approach if confronted by a complaint about a physicians who refuse to refer patients for abortion or other morally contested procedures for reasons of conscience.