The Medical Practitioner’s Registration Panel did, however, offer to assist with resolving the issue between a locally based medical practitioner and the Responsible Officer – Dr Peter Rabey – but said “this offer was not taken up”.
The incident was recorded in the Responsible Officer’s and Medical Practitioner’s Registration Panel Annual Reports for 2023, both of which have been published online.
The Panel oversees medical practitioners in the Bailiwick, reviews decisions made by the Responsible Officer and ensures that unsuitable practitioners are not registered in the islands.
Its annual report is rarely published, but the 2023 report has been appended to a future States debate, as has the Responsible Officer’s report.
In 2023 the Panel was tasked with investigating a case where a “Guernsey based medical practitioner” lodged a concern which “related to the manner of the investigation of complaints that had been made against them”.
The Responsible Officer report also refers to this incident as follows: “The Registration Panel considered one grievance against the Responsible Officer in 2023. in 2023. The Panel unanimously found that the grievance did not raise a substantive issue.”
The Panel published its approach to the investigation via its annual report:
“The Panel’s primary task was to establish whether this was a substantive issue requiring referral to the GMC or to the relevant Committee of the States.
“The Panel interviewed the complainant and the other professional involved. Following detailed consideration and deliberation by the Panel of a significant bundle of documents submitted by the complainant and the oral evidence taken from relevant parties, the Panel issued decision letters on 15th November 2023.
“The Panel unanimously found that the concern did not raise a substantive issue under the Ordinance. The Panel did however consider that some lessons could be learned from what had happened and offered to assist with informal resolution of the issues between the parties, but this offer was not taken up.”