The Interaction Between Punitive and Protective Suspension Orders for UK Doctors

If the UK’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPT) finds that a doctor’s fitness to practice is impaired, one of the available sanctions is a suspension of the doctor’s registration for up to 12 months. Ordinarily, such a suspension will not take effect until 28 days after the MPT’s decision, which is the period within which the doctor can appeal to a court. However, where the MPT imposes a suspension, it may also make an immediate suspension order to prevent the doctor from practicing during the appeal window or while any appeal is pending. The cumulative duration of these two types of suspension often exceeds the statutory 12-month maximum for suspensions. One interpretation is that immediate suspension orders may serve to discourage doctors from challenging the Tribunal’s decisions on appeal, even where there are good grounds for considering that the decision may be successfully appealed. Here, we examine the interplay between these two types of suspension by reference to empirical data collected from the MPT. We identify inconsistencies between tribunals as to the purpose of each, and we scrutinize a recent appeal case, which clarified whether these suspensions should be served consecutively or concurrently.