The mother of a six-year-old boy who died after a doctor failed to diagnose sepsis has hit out at a court ruling that will allow the medic to return to work, accusing the tribunal of putting the woman's career over the life of her son.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter and given a suspended jail sentence after the death of Jack Adcock from sepsis at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) heard she had made an incorrect diagnosis of gastro-enteritis when she initially examined the youngster, who had Down's Syndrome and a heart condition.

Image: Dr Bawa-Garba has not worked since her conviction in 2015

The doctor had also not acted on a clinical reading which "ought to have been a clear indicator" of sepsis, the hearing was told.

Jack's parents, Nicky, 45, and Victor, 53, from Glen Parva, Leicestershire, fiercely opposed the doctor being allowed to practise again, but she has been given permission to return to work with a raft of conditions imposed upon her.


Mrs Adcock has criticised the decision, saying Dr Bawa-Garba should not be allowed back in a hospital.

"If I got in a car, and I know it's different, and I hit a child and I killed that child then I would lose my licence and I would go to prison," Mrs Adcock said.

"I would probably never want to get in that car again but all she has done is to try and fight us.

"Her career is more important than the life of my son."

Image: Jack Adcock died after a number serious of errors made by Dr Bawa-Garba

Concluding the hearing on Tuesday, tribunal chairwoman Claire Sharp said the risk of Dr Bawa-Garba putting another patient at unwarranted risk of harm was low.

She said the evidence showed she had undertaken a "significant" amount of remediation, and the tribunal believed the doctor had "the potential to respond positively to remediation, retraining, and to her work being supervised".

Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, chair of The Doctors' Association UK, backed the verdict.

She said restoring Dr Bawa-Garba to the medical register would "go some way in addressing the current climate of fear and blame in the NHS which is so toxic to patient safety".

Prior to the verdict, Dr Bawa-Garba - who recently gave birth to her fourth child - told the tribunal via video-link from her home that the case "will live with me for the rest of my life".

Image: Jack Adcock had Down's Syndrome and a heart condition

She was sentenced in December 2015 to two years in jail over Jack's death, with her prison term suspended for the same period.

Lawyers at her sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court said at the time that the career of Dr Bawa-Garba was over in light of the conviction.

She was later barred from practise for 12 months before the General Medical Council (GMC) took the case to the High Court to appeal against the sanction.

The GMC said the ban on Dr Bawa-Garba - who had wanted to be a doctor since the age of 13 - was "not sufficient" and she was struck off in January 2018.

But last August the Court of Appeal ruled her name should be restored to the medical register and her case be sent back to the MPTS.

August 2018 - Victim's mum: Verdict is a disgrace

The tribunal ruled on Tuesday that the conditions imposed on Dr Bawa-Garba's return to work include that she must be closely supervised by a clinical supervisor, she must have an educational supervisor and she must allow the GMC to exchange information with any person involved in monitoring her compliance with her conditions.

The hearing in Manchester was told Dr Bawa-Garba was "on the cusp" of becoming a consultant prior to the incident as a specialist registrar but plans to take a step back in grade "some years" when she returns to work in February 2020 following maternity leave.

The actions of the GMC to appeal the original suspension angered many doctors who said important issues raised by the case - including dangerous levels of under-staffing, failures of IT systems and staff working in inappropriate conditions - had been ignored.