On 5 May 2010, David Southall won his appeal against a GMC finding that he accused a mother of murdering her son and a ruling striking him off the medical register. On the same day, the GMC announced it was establishing a working group to produce new guidance for paediatricians working in child protection.
Briefly, the case against Dr Southall arose after he had been asked by a County Council to provide an independent report relating to the safety of the surviving son of Mrs M, from Shropshire.
In December 2007, a GMC panel found that his actions had caused additional distress to the mother, whose 10 year old boy hanged himself in 1996.
Dr Southall pursued legal action following the GMC panel decision to strike him off the register. He denied ever accusing Mrs M of murder or conducting the interview with her in an aggressive and hostile manner. The decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on the basis that the panel had failed to give adequate reasons over the allegations relating to Mrs M.
He could still face further disciplinary proceedings but Lord Justice Leveson, one of the appeal judges, is not convinced another hearing would be in the public interest.
Following the appeal, Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of the GMC, announced that an expert group would be convened to review the guidance for paediatricians involved in child protection cases. He stressed that "this is vital and difficult work and nothing should deter professionals from undertaking it, to protect vulnerable children across the UK". Accordingly, he stated that the expert group will be convened "to provide clarity and reassurance about what is expected from those who practise in the critically important area of healthcare."
The working group has now been set up by the GMC to gather evidence about doctors' roles and responsibilities in child protection work and to make recommendations about the guidance the GMC should issue. It is intended that the new guidance will expand on the GMC's core guidance to doctors, Good Medical Practice, and its supporting texts.
The new guidance will apply to all doctors who work to protect children, such as paediatricians and GPs, and it will be applied across the United Kingdom. The GMC believes "it will promote good practice and enable doctors to work with the confidence that, where they comply with the guidance, their actions will not be subject to censure by the GMC".
The consultation calling for evidence on the role of doctors in child protection closed on 24 September 2010. A public consultation on the draft guidance is likely to be held in mid-2011 with the new guidance due for issue at the end of 2011.
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