Doctor fails to overturn erasure in Demanya v GMC

A doctor has failed to overturn a tribunal’s decision to erase them from the medical register in Demanya v The General Medical Council.

In Demanya v The General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 247 (Admin) (07 February 2025), the appellant doctor was involved in the care of a 75-year-old woman, Patient A, at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital on February 26, 2019. The appellant doctor faced allegations of misconduct, particularly dishonesty, following the patient’s death on February 27, 2019, due to sepsis.

Key Allegations and Findings:

• Failure to Diagnose: The Tribunal found that the doctor failed to make a specific diagnosis of severe infection or sepsis during his initial assessment of Patient A at 03:00 on February 26, 2019.
• Retrospective Prescription: The doctor retrospectively added antibiotics and catheterisation to Patient A’s medical records, which he later crossed out.
• Dishonesty: The Tribunal determined that the doctor acted dishonestly by falsifying Patient A’s medical records and providing false testimony at the coroner’s inquest into Patient A’s death.

The Tribunal concluded thatthe appellant doctor’s actions of falsifying medical records and giving false testimony constituted serious misconduct and dishonesty. The Tribunal found his conduct fundamentally incompatible with continued registration as a doctor.

Given the gravity of his misconduct, the Tribunal decided to erase the appellant doctor’s name from the medical register, deeming this necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession and ensure the protection of public safety.

Grounds of Appeal

Dr. Demanya appealed against the Tribunal’s decision on several grounds, including alleged errors in the Tribunal’s findings of fact, application of the standard of proof, and the proportionality of the sanction.

The High Court, presided over by Mr. Justice Dexter Dias, dismissed the appeal, upholding the Tribunal’s findings and the decision to erase his name from the medical register. The court emphasized the importance of maintaining public confidence in the medical profession and the need for stringent sanctions in cases involving serious dishonesty.

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