Doctors with Conditions - Rehabilitation or Risk

This article reports and updates a study that analysed protective orders in medical disciplinary tribunals over a three-year period. It argues that the concept of the protection of the public has been undermined by protective orders that focus on the rehabilitation of problem and impaired doctors in the management of risk. The article posits a medical or psychiatric model of misconduct in which misconduct is seen in terms of illness, rather than attracting negative moral judgment and severe disciplinary sanctions. The findings in the study and cases since indicate that the most common form of risk management in medical tribunals is the imposition of conditions upon a doctor's registration, such as supervision or psychiatric treatment. The article concludes that, given the paucity of research on the rationale and utility of such protective orders, the faith of tribunals in their effectiveness is misplaced.