High Court Dismisses Doctor’s Appeal Over GMC Suspension

The High Court has dismissed an appeal brought by Dr Sarah Myhill against a Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) decision to suspend her registration for 12 months due to misconduct.

Mrs Justice Eady ruled that the Tribunal’s findings were fair and supported by evidence, and that the doctor had failed to demonstrate sufficient insight or remediation.

The doctor, a former NHS GP now practising as a naturopath, was sanctioned following concerns about her clinical care of two patients and her online promotion of unlicensed treatments for viral infections.

The original 2023 MPT hearing (MPT1), held in her absence, found she breached several provisions of Good Medical Practice, including failing to clearly communicate treatment risks and promoting misinformation on her website regarding vitamin and drug use during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She did not appeal that initial decision but challenged its subsequent review (MPT2), which maintained the suspension due to a continued lack of insight and professional reflection.

Her grounds of appeal included procedural unfairness, breach of her freedom of expression, and alleged bias by the GMC. She also sought to introduce fresh evidence to undermine expert testimony from the first hearing—an application previously rejected by the court.

In upholding the review decision, the High Court confirmed that the Tribunal had correctly limited the scope of its review to assessing current fitness to practise, not re-opening past findings.

Justice Eady emphasised that despite extensive supplementary materials provided by the doctor, her submissions largely sought to reargue settled facts. The Tribunal had validly concluded that her confirmation bias and failure to engage with contrary viewpoints posed an ongoing risk to public confidence and professional standards.

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