Pay-out victory for doc

Oct 2 2005 Exclusive By Tom Wells

A HOSPITAL whistleblower has reached a lucrative settlement (#) with the General Medical
Council - after it tried to brand her mentally ill.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, psychiatrist Dr Rita Pal sued the doctors'
watchdog for conducting a secret smear campaign against her.
Dr Pal, from Sutton Coldfield, had gone to the GMC five years ago, claiming seriously ill elderly
patients were being helped to die by NHS staff in Midland hospitals.
But she later discovered the medical body had turned against her.
Top-ranking staff openly questioned her sanity and even talked of launching a probe into
whether she was fit to practise.
In response, Dr Pal launched a lawsuit (#) against the GMC, and just weeks before a final court
battle, the GMC's lawyers agreed to a financial settlement which is believed to run into tens of
thousands of pounds.
No details of the confidential settlement have been disclosed and a spokesman for the
watchdog would not issue a comment on the case.
But Barjinder Sahota, Dr Pal's solicitor, confirmed: "I am pleased to say that the GMC and my
client have reached an amicable settlement."
Dr Pal's story began in April 2000 when she broke ranks to go public and highlight a string of
alleged patient abuses in Midland hospitals.
She claimed dying patients had medication withdrawn by medical staff to hasten death and free
up beds, while others, who were also seriously ill, were given drugs to kill them.
Dr Pal, now 33, later submitted a dossier of evidence to the GMC and promised to co-operate
with their probe into the allegations.
But after the watchdog failed to meet her, she withdrew from the investigation.
Then in 2003, Dr Pal - now working as a psychiatrist - received a tipoff that the GMC was
looking into her own conduct.
She issued a request under data protection laws, demanding the body hand over all files they
held on her.
To her amazement, Dr Pal found a series of internal memos openly questioning her sanity.
They had been exchanged between GMC officials, including Peter Lynn, deputy to GMC chief
executive, and Dr Sheila Mann, who 'screens' investigations into doctors before they go ahead.
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One memo from Mr Lynn, dated November 30, 2000, read: "She may be suffering from mental
illness. There must be some concern about this doctor having direct access to patients."
A year later, in October 2001, discussions about Dr Pal were STILL going on.
Dr Mann wrote: 'I do think she could have a health problem. She is certainly intemperate and
possibly paranoid...'
Despite having no proof that Dr Pal suffered from any mental health problems, the GMC kept
the memos on file.
Dr Pal demanded the watchdog delete the records, but it refused, and she took the GMC to
court, suing over data protection breaches, human rights and defamation.
During a preliminary hearing, one High Court judge launched a withering attack on the GMC's
conduct.
J udge Charles Harris raged: "It is like a totalitarian regime: anybody who criticises it is said to
be mentally ill - what used to happen in Russia."
Last night, Dr Pal said: "I risked being made bankrupt if I lost the last hearing. Being bankrupt
means automatically getting struck off, so the stakes were therefore quite high. "It's finally over.
I fought hard through the last hearing and never gave up. I am really very happy about the
settlement."
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