Criminalisation of Healthcare. Does it improve patient safety? - Jenny Vaughan

Dr Jenny Vaughan has been Consultant Neurologist for 14 years (NW London Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS trust). Jenny was the medical lead for the successful over-turning of the conviction of Surgeon Mr David Sellu for gross negligence manslaughter in 2013. Jenny have conducted multiple interviews on mainstream media in recent weeks vocalising the concerns of the whole profession with respect to medical manslaughter (1). Jenny has published widely-read articles on this subject2. Jenny has been an invited speaker at multiple events on gross negligence manslaughter, including the RCP annual conference last year. Jenny has conducted surveys 3 for the last three years in order to understand the impact of the criminal law on healthcare, especially after the conviction and erasure of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba. These surveys have informed law-makers, politicians, the media, the BMA, the royal colleges and the medical profession in general. Jenny co-founded the only UK online resource for anyone to access who wishes to know more about the charges of gross negligence manslaughter in healthcare. Jenny co-organised the first joint medicolegal meeting on manslaughter and avoidable harm in Holborn 2015

www.manslaughterandhealthcare.org.uk)4.

Jenny's work in bringing those in the field together was published and recently cited editorially in the BMJ 5-6. This year the medico-legal team won crime team of the year at The Modern Law Awards7. Jenny has become a leading voice of the medical profession on this subject. She gave oral and written submissions to the Williams review as her intention is to work with others to continuously improve patient safety (8). She contributes regularly on this subject to leading journals (9) and is currently assisting the Marx review into how manslaughter by gross negligence is applied to medical practice.

1.http://www.manslaughterandhealthcare.org.uk/2018/02/20/media-coverage-of-medical-manslaughter/

2.http://www.manslaughterandhealthcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Jenny-Vaughan-RCS-Bulletin-article-February-2016.pdf

3. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DY6VYSM

4. http://www.manslaughterandhealthcare.org.uk/2018/02/20/events/

5. . http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k479

6. http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/03/20/the-case-of-david-sellu-a-criminal-court-is-not-the-right-place-to-determine-blame-in-complex-clinical-cases/

7. https://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/congratulations-to-david-sellu-appeal-team/

8.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717946/Williams_Report.pdf

9. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/06/21/jenny-vaughan-the-williams-review-a-significant-step-forward-for-all/