ABSTRACT
The Ledward case provides an example of an influential hospital consultant who committed serious professional misconduct whilst practising both in the NHS and privately. In common with the other case examples discussed, the GMC took no action for most of the period of misconduct. On 30 September 1998, Rodney Ledward’s name was eventually erased from the medical register by the GMC and on 17 March 1999 the Secretary of State for Health set up an Inquiry into his actions. The terms of reference of the Inquiry were:
To consider why the serious failures in the NHS clinical practice of Mr Rodney Ledward at South Kent Hospitals NHS Trust were not identified and acted upon earlier and to consider the action taken when those failures came to light. In doing so, to review the role of the management and staff of the Trust (and its predecessor body) and other external bodies concerned with the quality of patient care and to consider the adequacy of systems, including clinical audit, to ensure quality…
The Inquiry, chaired by Jean Ritchie QC, published its report on 1 June 2000.1 The principal findings were that Ledward was able to harm patients, over at least a 16-year period, because of a culture where hospital consultants received god-like treatment and other staff feared retribution if they reported concerns. Colleagues should have known that his performance was significantly below standard and his attitude towards patients inappropriate. A number of victims described a culture where their concerns were ignored, or they were simply disbelieved. When concerns did eventually come to light, senior managers failed to investigate.
