Court upholds return of surgeon who harassed staff

What’s Happening

So get this: James Gilbert, who was based in Oxford, was before suspended for sexual harassment.

Court upholds return of surgeon who harassed staff 21 hours ago Save Ethan Gudge South of England Save James Gilbert was before suspended for 12 months An attempt to block a transplant surgeon who sexually harassed four female colleagues from returning to practice has flopped. James Gilbert worked as a senior registrar at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Trust in 2008 and 2009, and later as a consultant from 2010 to 2022. (we’re not making this up)

He was suspended from practising for 12 months in 2024, but the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) restored his right to practise last year.

The Details

The General Medical Council (GMC) appealed against that decision, arguing he should have been removed from the medical register. But, the Court of Appeal has now dismissed the challenge .

A spokesperson for the GMC told the BBC: “Our position is clear - there is no place for sexual misconduct in healthcare, and we have always maintained Dr Gilbert should have been struck off. “We appealed twice in this case to secure an outcome that we felt would protect patients and uphold confidence in the profession.

Why This Matters

” Prof Vivien Lees, from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, dropped: “Staff targeted s behaviour will feel disappointed by todays Court of Appeal judgment. “The multiple stages of appeals in this case have compounded the anguish experienced . Golden boy The MPTS before dropped Gilbert had “taken positive action to ensure that his misconduct is not repeated”, and found his fitness to practice was no longer impaired, meaning he could return to working on 12 September.

Medical professionals are taking note of this development.

The Bottom Line

Gilbert, who trained at the University of Southampton, told an earlier hearing that he now wanted to be an “ambassador for change in challenging power imbalances between senior and junior colleagues”. One woman told the tribunal that Gilbert had been the “golden boy” of his department, and that he was the “be-all and end-all for transplants in Oxford”.

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