SUNDAY MERCURY FEBRUARY 6. 2OO5

BY TOM UTELLS

A BRAVE NHS whistleblowercould land a record damagesPay-out from the GeneralMedical Council - after itbranded her 'mentally ill ' in asecret smear campaign.l)i Riia Pal lrent to lhe i\.atchdog fve

l.ars ago, clairning seriously ill elderlyi,riients were being helped to die in\lidland hospitals.llLri instead of taking her shocking

Lrmplaints seriously, the GNIC tumedrr her.i'op ranldng staff openly questioned

hersanity and even talked oflaunchinga probe into n'helher she was lit topractise.\o!r Dr Pal could sue for huge damages

aler a judge blasted the controversialJoclors watchdog for acting like a to-lalitarian regime similar to Stalin sRLrssia.Today r^'e reveal the erdraordinary

'lorJ' of horv Britain's leading medicalfegulator led a witch-hunt against acourageous wi'listleblower - co-0rdiDated b1 a nystery GI{C ligurecalied 'The Screener'.Dr Pai. Irorl Sutton Coldlield, recentl]'

ll.oD a landmark coufi case which nowpaves the lvay lbr her to sue the GMC.The preliminary hearing - held last

sllrnmer - had beL'n brought by the\ratchdog rvho rraDted to 'strike outany lawslr it lrom the psychiatrist beforei r feached ftrll trial.Instead their case which cost them

184.000 in legallees -was thror ''n outaDd, despite lengthy taiks between thetlvo parties, a settlement appearsLrnlikely.

Shotkwoves

Nolv Dr Pal is understood to be Lron-lidering lodging a potentially hugeclaim for damages over data protectionbrcaches. human ights abuses anddefamation.l-ast night, the watchdog refrsed to

coniment on our story. saying oni]':'Due to tlle ongoing iegal action in thislase we arc not able to cornfient. "

But DrPal's case will send shocklvavesthlorghthe medical prolession whichisslill reelingftomrecentdisasten such asserial killer Dr Harold Shipman and thedrild orgaDs rflmDon icandal,she ktd the sunday l\,Iercury: "The

1r'iratmentl havc receivecl at the hands ofihe GN{C has been thr r4'orse than thatructed out to a rlass murderer.''Yer I have never killed a patient, nor

have there been any complaints againstne . '-,\lthough Dr Pal's court battie has just

come to light, the case actually datesback to April2000.'l'hen a junior doctor, she broke ranks

ro go public and highlight a stdng olalleged patient abuses in Midlandhospitais.She claimed dt'lng patients had medi-

cation withfuawn by medical staff tobasten death and iree up beds lr'hileothers, who were also seriouslyill. weregiven drugs to kill them.Dr Pal. noiv 32, later submitted a dos-

siel of evidence to the GMC irnd prcm-ised to co-operate with their investiga-tion into her allegations.

But after the watchdog refused to meether on her oum terms in Bi-rmingham,the busy doctor pulled out aftet becom-ing f-rusbated with the la(k of supportshe was getting.She had also been advised by a GMC

insider to be wary of being interuiewedby a watchdog whose reputation was

already ulder scrutiny because of itshandling of complaints against its owndoctors.Asthemonthsdrew on, hercomplaints

were seemlngly forgotten by the GMC.Butthenin 2003DrP? nowworking

as a psychiatrist -received a tip-offrbathigh-powered figures at the watchdog

were probing her own conduct.She issued a request under the Data

Protection Act, demanding the GMChand over allfiles they held on her.Astonishingly, h'henshe receivedthem

llr Pal lound a series ofinternal memosquestioning her saniq' and litnass topractise as a doctor.

Nor,ember 30 200O, read: "...She maybe sullering fIom rnental illness...Hercorrespondence, particularly the docu_meDts I have llagged, ce{ainly demoD-strate that Dr Pal is ertremelyirational..."There nltst be some concern about

this doctor having direct access topatienls. 'The Drernos, which went right to the

top of ihe GMC, shon'ed how 'l'he

Screeller' tded to use his or her pofier tosmear Dr Pal.Another merno. Irom 'the ScreeDer'.

readr "...I may be able to make discreetconfidcntial enquiries labout Dr Pal]which I will do and then discuss...

'

A year later, in October 2001, discus-sions over Dr Pal were STTLL gomg oninside GMC headquaders.A memo 'The ScreeDer' n'rote said: 'l

do tlink that she could have a hei:lthproblem. She is cetainly intemperate

and possibly paranoid..."And despite having no prcof n'hatso-

ever that Dr Pal was sullering lrom anynental health problems, the GMC keptthc memos on frle.Foilolr'ing her Data Protection Act

requcst, a furiousDrPal demanded theGtrIC delete the records but they refused.She then hredatop barrister and took

the ra'atchdog to court - where sheDolched up victory in the first legalskirmish.Judge Charles Harris, QC, ruled the

cMc had no grounds lbr dismissing DrPal s claims before they rcached courtand told her she had every right to latethe matter to a lull jury trial.He aiso awarded her i18,o00 in costs

and iaunched a withefing attack on theconductofthe GMC.Judge Ilarrls said: "lt lthe GMCI is like a

totalitadan regime: anybody r'vho criti-cises itis said to be prima facie mentally

ill - $'hat used to h appen in Russia...''Costs -at leastthe delendants costs

were clearly out of hand...some184.000. This...is a sum which nust. inmy judgement, be dilncult to justitr. "

Dr Pal told the Mercuryi "There hasbeen no complaint against me by anypatients and my GP verifies that I havcnot been nentally ill and the iudgeagreed."The entire point centles on

whistleblowing."If whistleblowers are to be treated

with such contempt, then there wjll bero-one who will prevent the nert DrHarold Shipman."It is due to the catastrophic lailulle of

systems lke the GMC and Depa rtment ofHealth that Dr Shipman managed to killso many people - it ofcourse starts withdisoediting a lr'histleblorver ftom theoutsct.

palients should bedie if it cosls the

docu-

t/vhO asuch as

REPORT: HealthSefietary John Feid

tom,wells@mrn.co.uk

RITA Pdl's clash with iheGMC contributed to thedownfallof a love-rat Mid.land MP.In November 2003 the

Sunday Mercury revealedhow Paul Marsden, LibDem member tor Shrews-bury and Atcham, hadbied to seduce Dr Palwiih..

lLlt after the watchdog relused to meet.r on her own terms in BimiDgham,r..busy doctor pulled oul aJter becom-Lg ftustrated with the lack of supportl.1fas geltrng,ihe had also been advised by a GMCider to be wary of beiDg interviewedi a watchdoq whose reputation was

a string of saucy e-mails,The psychiatrisl also sen-

sationally claimed the MPhad asked herto begin anafiair with him - in

"l'm iust a weak, tlawedman with a very high sexdrive."But the shocked medic

reiected his advances andsent him back to his wife.The MP has sihce

announced plans to standdown at the nert GeneralElection

They had been exchangcd behveenthree GMC omcials: Catherine Green, acase worket Peter L].nn, deputy to GMCchief executive and registrar FinlayScott; and Sarah Bedt'r'ell, head o1screening.Also heavily involved r'r'as a mysterious

figule kno\ 'n within the CMC as l'heScteener',Despite repeated requests for thc iden-

tity of'The Screelrer' to be publiclyrevealed, the GMC have refused to dis-close it.But their job was to act on behalf of the

president. Sir Graeme Catto. bJ, 'screen-

Ing rnvesugauons tnto ooctors bLfuKtjthey began to determine $'hether theyshould go ahead at all.A stunned DrPal read hovt' herreiusal

to co-operate with the probe into heroiginal allegations was naw beingtumed against her.One memo lrom Mr Ll'nn, dated

help overdifficul-

Dtlg!, lrr

already under scrutiny because of itshandling olcomplaints againsL lts owndoctors.Asthe monthsdrew on, hercomplaiots

were seemingly forgotten by the UMC.But then in 2 003 Dr Pal - n ow u'orking

as a psychiatrist -received a tip-olTthathigh-powered figures at tlle watchdog

$€re probing her owD conduct.She issued a request under the Data

Protection Act. demanding the cMChand over all files they held on her.Astonishingly, wheu she received lhem

Dr Pal found a series ofinternal memosquestioning her sanity and fitne.ss topmctise as a doctor.

RAT: Paul