Medical practitioner

Malik v General Medical Council [2013] All ER (D) 24 (Oct), [2013] EWHC 2902 (Admin); NLJ 11 October

It is established law that under s41A of the Medical Act 1983, where an interim order panel were satisfied that it was necessary for protection of members of the public or was otherwise in the public interest for the registration of that person to be suspended, the panel might order, among other things, that the registration was to be suspended. The statute used the word “necessary” for the protection of members of the public. The other test was in the “public interest”. In order to justify the suspension, it had to be at least highly desirable and also necessary to qualify the public interest test. Under s41A(10) of the Act, a court might terminate the suspension. An application made under s41A(10) was made on the basis that there was an extant order of suspension. The court would start from the proposition that the suspension was in place before deciding whether the position ought to be altered, and, as had been said in various cases, the court should only interfere if satisfied that the decision to continue the suspension was wrong.