A doctor who is struck off or suspended by the GMC must lodge an Appeal Notice within 28 days or lose their right to appeal. The Medical Act 1983, as amended, prescribes a 28 day time limit from the notification of a panel’s decision in Fitness to Practise (FTP) proceedings, to lodge an appeal. The time limit is set out in an Act of Parliament (Primary Statute), and it is improbable that such express language will be interpreted in any other way, even taking Human Rights Act 1988 interpretation-of-legislation provisions into account. Doctors (or their lawyers) may well fail to lodge a Notice of Appeal in time if they do not keep an eye on when the doctor was served with the panel’s determination.
If a doctor is present at a hearing, the time may be considered to run from that date, especially if a doctor has signed to confirm that they have received the determination. Alternatively, the time will run from the date on which the doctor receives a written copy of the decision by post. Even where an Appeal Notice is lodged, if the Appellant has not lodged the requisite fee or applied for an exemption at the same, there is a risk that the appeal Notice will not have been lodged appropriately and be struck out.
In the case of Harrison v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 1741, Blake J held that the High Court had no power to extend the 28 days period in which an appeal had to be lodged. Consequently, any appeal lodged outside of the 28 days period, or which had been lodged in a procedurally defective way within that time, could not be considered. The time limit for lodging an appeal notice applies to all sanctions imposed by a FTP panel, where a doctor wishes to challenge the determination. [Full Case Report not available at this time.]
Where a doctor has been struck off the register, a doctor will not be able to apply for Restoration for a minimum of five years. Therefore, the strict time-limits must be complied with if a doctor is not to suffer adverse consequences by missing the appeal deadline.
Doctors Defence Service advises doctors on the merits of appealing an adverse GMC FTP panel decision. Our lawyers regularly represent doctors at appeal hearings in the High Court. Some of our lawyers have also appeared in the Court of Appeal, in fitness to practise appeals. To discuss the possibility of bringing an appeal, with an experienced lawyer, call us on: 0800 10 88 739
