General Medical Council, R (on the application of) v Kemm

1. MR JUSTICE COLLINS: This is a claim by the General Medical Council to extend an Interim Suspension Order on the defendant doctor's registration. An Interim Order was originally made in April of last year. That was maintained on 5th October and the application is that it should be extended for a further 12 months so as to expire on 12th January 2007. 2. It is unnecessary to go into any detail. The defendant doctor has the misfortune to suffer from a disorder which has meant that he has needed psychiatric care from time to time. He is unfortunately now unwell and has been unable to attend for the necessary consultations to deal with the situation and to see whether he is indeed fit to continue to practise, this being a health case as opposed to a case of misconduct. 3. In all the circumstances it is clearly inevitable and correct that he should not be permitted to practise, at least not without some conditions. In the meantime it is clearly correct until the matter is sorted out that he be suspended from practice. In those circumstances he has consented to the continuation of this order, but he has, from time to time, resiled from such consents. So it was that the claimants were very sensibly and properly represented before me today, but he has not attended. The consent is there and I would have been satisfied, in any event, that it was appropriate to extend the order. 4. In all the circumstances I grant the application which is before me.