Doctors urged to 'shop' colleagues

Dr Evans-Appiah oversaw Darren's extraction

Doctors must break the culture of silence and be prepared to "shop" colleagues who are not fit to practice.

The call came from Dr John Garner, the chairman of the British Medical Association's Scottish council, following the decision to strike off an incompetent anaesthetist.

Dr John Evans-Appiah's name was removed from the medical register on Monday following a catalogue of blunders, which included the death of 10-year-old Darren Denholm during a tooth extraction.

The Ukraine-trained doctor worked mainly as a locum and held 42 posts over 23 years across the UK.

Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland on Tuesday, Dr Garner accepted that there was a particular problem in checking on the standard of locum doctors.

When some awful tragedy like this occurs we must be seen to be acting fast and effectively and getting back the confidence of the public

Dr John Garner, BMA Scottish Council chairman

But he said: "We have to move to a much more open culture.

"We as doctors have a responsibility to protect patients when we have concerns about a doctor's performance.

"We have to address that and move to that openness culture so that if there are concerns we report them and they are investigated, so that we can avoid the tragedy that we have seen with Darren."

The General Medical Council's professional conduct committee barred Dr Evans-Appiah from practising with immediate effect after one of the longest hearings in its history.

'Awful tragedy'

The 58-year-old was in charge of anaesthesia during the procedure in Edinburgh in which Darren died from a heart attack in 1999.

Dr Garner said the medical profession had a responsibility to ensure that incompetent doctors did not practice.

"When some awful tragedy like this occurs we must be seen to be acting fast and effectively and getting back the confidence of the public, which we have lost because of these high-profile cases over the last few years," he said.

Dr John Garner: Call for "open" culture

Dr Garner said: "Locums are vital for the smooth running of the NHS, but we have to ensure that where doctors are moving around that they are also checked that they are performing to a satisfactory standard.

"We have got to put in mechanisms to achieve that."

He also acknowledged that there was a shortage of doctors in Britain, which has the lowest proportion of doctors to population in Europe.

But he stressed: "That does not excuse us.

"We still have to work out systems that allow us to reassure the public that doctors are fit to practice."

Regular checks

One measure being developed is a procedure where every doctor would have to demonstrate on a regular basis that they were fit to practice in their chosen speciality.

"We are working through these processes now to try and convince the public that they can have confidence in the medical profession," he said.

Speaking after the verdict, Darren's mother Isla said she was "delighted" that Dr Evans-Appiah had been found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

"I trusted Evans-Appiah to care for Darren," she said. "His life was in Evans-Appiah's hands.

"I will never trust a doctor again.

"The last two years have been living hell for me and my family."