nhs consultant case studies
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Case Study 1  - NHS Consultant Surgeon with an Employment Dispute
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Amit is a surgeon with a busy  NHS and private practice. Amit's colleagues are unhappy that Amit manages to work efficiently for the NHS Trust and his own practice. When a patient dies during an operation Amit suspects his colleague Sam has been negligent and tells Marion the Medical Director. Sam alleges that Amit has been leaving the Trust early to visit his private patients and Amit is suspended. The Trust tells Amit that the internal disciplinary process that will be followed will be the usual Trust internal disciplinary policy for all employees and that they will move straight to a disciplinary hearing rather than an investigation. Amit checks his insurance and finds he has legal expenses cover.
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how can we help?
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• We could help Amit by seeking an injunction forcing the Trust to use MHPS
• We can help to produce a statement for the disciplinary hearing or appeal hearing and may be able to accompany Amit to the hearings
• We can bring a whistle-blowing claim and unfair dismissal claim in the Employment Tribunal using Amit''s legal expenses insurance
• If there is a GMC referral we can help with this and accompany Amit to any counter-fraud hearing                                                                                          

Case Study 2 - NHS Consultant with Job Planning Dispute
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Aylesha is an Obs and Gynae Consultant and has two children. Aylesha works part time because she provides care for her children.. She works in a team of consultants who are all male apart from Miss Simmonds who is a workaholic and does not have children. During her job planning meeting, Aylesha is told that she will be covering more of the out of hours rota than the other consultants to make up for the fact that she works less PAs and has an easier life.  The CD tells Aylesha she should regard Miss Simmonds as a role model and give the same levels of commitment and that "there's no such thing as part time in the NHS. It's patients first". Aylesha is not happy about this and believes that she is being discriminated against because she has children and is part time. The Job Planning process is carried out by Aylesha's CD and he has never liked her and was not happy when she took maternity leave three years ago. Aylesha tells the CD that she is being discriminated against because she is female and the CD tells her that she will need to go through a capability procedure because the Trust has concerns about her performance.

how can we help?
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• We can give Aylesha advice on how to undertake a Job Planning appeal and produce a statement to be considered at the Job Planning Appeal
• We can also help Aylesha to draft a grievance letter setting out her discrimination claims and victimisation claim
• We can bring Employment Tribunal proceedings for sex discrimination and discrimination on the grounds of part time status and victimisation whilst Aylesha is still employed
• We can help Aylesha to draft a complaint to the GMC reporting that she has experienced discrimination at the hands of her consultant colleague    

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case study 3 - NHS Consultant Surgeon with Counter-fraud interview and GMC referral
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Dr Nadia Petrov is an Associate Specialist and she works at an NHS Trust near Blackpool. The Trust has two sites and at her job interview, Nadia is told after her interview panel ends that if she ever has to work at the site in North Blackpool she can put in travel expenses for travel between the two sites. She is told this information by a Consultant who leaves the Trust shortly afterwards.
 
Nadia works for the Trust for three years and regularly puts in her expenses which are paid for by the Trust. Just before Christmas, Nadia tells her colleague David Smith about the expenses she is permitted to claim for driving to the different sites and he said that this is not something that the Trust allows him to do. David makes an enquiry of the Trust Finance team and is told that expenses between Trust sites are not payable and to claim it would result in an internal Trust investigation for fraud.
 
Nadia arrives at work on a Friday morning to find that she cannot access the hospital premises and the security code has been changed. Nadia is then greeted by the Medical Director who tells Nadia that she is being suspended on full pay for potential fraud and that there will be a meeting with NHS Counter-fraud and a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct. Nadia is also told that as a precaution she has been referred to the General Medical Council. 
 
Nadia is provided with a Trust policy which states that "no employee will be entitled to any expenses whether private motor or public transport costs for travelling between Trust sites. Should employees need to do so, the employee will use the Trust free bus provided" Nadia tells the Medical Director that she was told at her interview that she could claim these expenses and that the Finance Department authorised them. The Medical Director said that no-one remembers but the matter is now out of his hands.

how can we help?
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• We can accompany Nadia to the NHS Counter-fraud hearing which will be under caution
• We can help Nadia to prepare for the disciplinary investigation / hearing to include drafting a statement for the hearing and obtaining supporting witness statements. We may be able to accompany Nadia to the hearing
• We can also deal with any internal appeal hearing 
• We can help Nadia respond to any GMC charges and provide full representation at the hearing