I’m an English and Irish qualified solicitor and I specialise in professional discipline and healthcare regulatory law.
The main focus of my work is defending professionals at fitness to practise proceedings before their regulatory bodies, where my experience includes successfully defending doctors before the General Medical Council, dentists before the General Dental Council, paramedics and other allied health professionals before the Health & Care Professions Council, pharmacists before the General Pharmaceutical Council, teachers before the Teaching Regulation Agency, veterinary surgeons before the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and architects before the Architects Registration Board.
I have also represented many student professionals in university fitness to practise investigations and qualified professionals in local-level processes including MHPS (Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Modern NHS) and ICB/performers list proceedings.
In terms of healthcare regulatory work, I represent healthcare professionals and providers who work in both the NHS and private sectors in connection with a wide range of non-disciplinary matters including Inquests, Public Inquiries, Care Quality Commission registration and enforcement action, patient complaints and claims, NHS England market entry processes, CESR applications and appeals, MHRA compliance and investigations, ARCP appeals, Judicial Review proceedings and LADO and Disclosure and Barring Service referrals. My LADO, safeguarding and DBS expertise has also led to instructions from both schools and universities.
I now have over 18 years’ experience acting for clients including medical and dental defence organisations, insurers, the NHS Litigation Authority (now NHS Resolution), the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain and many individual professionals. I also spent three years as in-house legal adviser to the General Medical Council itself, giving me a pretty unique insight into the workings and priorities of regulatory bodies.
My reported cases over the years include:
• Dr Odes v General Medical Council [2010] EWHC 552 (Admin)
• Dr Reddy v General Medical Council [2012] EWCA Civ 310
• Dr Aga v General Medical Council [2012] EWHC 782 (Admin)
• R (on the application of Pharmacy Care Plus Ltd) v Family Health Services Appeals Unit [2013] EWHC 824 (Admin)
• R (on the application of The National Pharmacy Association) v The Secretary of State for Health [2017] EWHC 1147 (Admin)
• R (on the application of Well Pharmacy) v The Welsh Ministers & Others [2017] EWHC 1983 (Admin)
• Pharmacy2U Limited v The National Pharmacy Association [2018] EWHC 3408 (Ch)
• R (on the application of the National Pharmacy Association) v The Secretary of State for Health [2018] EWCA Civ 1925
• Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care v HCPC & Christopher Wood [2019] EWHC 2819 (Admin)
• Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care v HCPC & Andrew Roberts [2020] EWHC 1906 (Admin)
I’m a Partner at the UK Top 50 law firm, Keystone Law. Please don’t hesitate to contact me there should you need legal assistance.