Northern Ireland

Leaked letter reveals medical regulator did not receive 'formal' alert about Michael Watt until 10 months after concerns were raised

Danielle O'Neill, a former patient of Dr Michael Watt, outside the High Court in Belfast last year following the first stage in her legal challenge to overturn a tribunal decision that allowed the medic to remove himself from the medical register
Danielle O'Neill, a former patient of Dr Michael Watt, outside the High Court in Belfast last year following the first stage in her legal challenge to overturn a tribunal decision that allowed the medic to remove himself from the medical register Danielle O'Neill, a former patient of Dr Michael Watt, outside the High Court in Belfast last year following the first stage in her legal challenge to overturn a tribunal decision that allowed the medic to remove himself from the medical register

A LEAKED letter has revealed the medical regulator did not receive a "formal" alert about a doctor at the centre of a recall scandal until nine months after concerns were raised.

The General Medical Council (GMC) wrote privately to the Stormont Health Committee last week to "clarify" the timeline in relation to the Belfast health trust's handling of the Dr Michael Watt case in relation to its referral process.

Correspondence seen by The Irish News shows the retired medic - who can longer practice as a doctor after removing himself from the medical register - first came to the attention of the GMC in June 2017 when "some concerns" were expressed by the trust about an unnamed consultant neurologist.

Trust chiefs disclosed Dr Watt's identity a month later to an Employer Liaison Advisor (ELA) for the regulator in the north, while also informing them of their decision to restrict him from seeing patients both in the NHS and privately.

The confidential letter to the health committee, sent by the GMC's National Head for NI, Jane Kennedy last Friday, notes however it wasn't until nine months later that her organisation was formally notified about the medic. This followed an independent probe which uncovered "safety concerns" about his work.

She states she wants to "ensure" the timeline is "clear" following previous evidence they had provided to the health committee during a session on November 4 last year.

Ms Kennedy wrote: "Michael Watt was formally referred to us by the Belfast HSC Trust in April 2018 after the Royal College of Physicians had undertaken a review.

"We advised the committee of the date the Michael Watt was referred to us but wish to clarify that we were aware the Belfast HSC Trust were considering concerns about him in July 2017.

"We provided the Independent Neurology Inquiry with full details of Michael Watt's fitness to practise history and continue to support the Inquiry's work in its final stages."

In May 2018, an unprecedented recall of 2,500 neurology patients under Dr Watt's care was ordered.

Governance and leadership arrangements linked to the scandal are at the centre of a public inquiry led by Brett Lockhart QC, which is nearing completion with 'Salmon letters' currently being issued to those criticised so as to give them an opportunity to respond before the inquiry report's release.

Patients are also seeking a legal challenge to the decision that allowed the consultant to remove himself from the medical register, which prevented a full and open public hearing taking place into his work.

Former patient Danielle O'Neill (39) is among those taking legal action to ensure "accountability". She was misdiagnosed, prescribed the wrong medication for five years and unnecessarily underwent an invasive medical procedure while under Dr Watt's care.

Reacting to the leaked correspondence, Ms O'Neill questioned why it took nine months for the regulator to receive a formal referral from the trust.

"We also know that a GP first raised the alarm about this to the Belfast trust in December 2016 yet he wasn't even formally named to the GMC until seven months later - and we weren't recalled for another year.

"We hope that through our legal challenge and the Lockhart inquiry we will get answers about how this was allowed to happen,"

In a statement, the Belfast trust confirmed it had named Dr Watt to the GMC ELA representiatve on July 24, 2017, and that "extensive" engagement took place from that date:

"We shared details of the concerns at that time with the GMC ELA, and confirmed that a decision had been taken by the then Trust Medical Director to restrict Dr Watt from all clinical duties.  

"Dr Watt was restricted by the Trust from seeing patients from July 2017.  There was extensive engagement between the Belfast Trust and the GMC ELA from that point on, with the GMC advised of the actions being taken by the Trust.

"The GMC awaited the completion of the review of cases by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in order to determine whether the threshold for referral to the GMC was met.  The RCP report was shared with the GMC when it was received by the Trust in April 2018.  A referral was made to the GMC on 16 April 2018."

A trust spokesman said they had "noted" the information provided by the GMC to the Health Committee last Novemer had "not included the details of the interactions with the GMC ELA prior to April 2018" - which the trust subsequently clarified.