Just Stop Oil doctor’s fitness to practise ‘impaired’

A tribunal has found a doctor’s fitness to practise to be impaired due to misconduct after she was involved in a number of Just Stop Oil protests.

The BBC reported that Dr Sarah Benn, a GP in Birmingham, was arrested after taking part in demonstrations at the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire.  The General Medical Council (GMC) said the proceedings were not brought as a reaction to her participation in protests, but the fact that her actions broke the law and resulted in her imprisonment.  The tribunal, reportedly,  said it must now consider what sanction, if any, to impose on the doctor’s registration.

At the tribunal, the 57-year-old referred to the British Medical Journal and stated they were calling on governments and leaders to act urgently on climate change, especially those in wealthier countries such as the UK.  She also submitted that there was evidence that non-violent direct action helped to change policy and law, and that this had been proven by history, citing the example of the Suffragette movement.

The BBC reported that she added:

“How could my patients trust me again, if I didn’t take action to confront the greatest health crisis we face?”

It was alleged that Dr Benn’s conduct had brought the profession into disrepute because she had broken the law by failing to comply with the injunction against protests at the Kingsbury oil terminal on multiple occasions.

The tribunal said in its findings: “The public must be able to trust that doctors will always act within the law.”