An NHS junior doctor faces a new tribunal after being allowed to keep her job despite claims of Holocaust denial and making a throat-slitting gesture at Jewish protesters.Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, has come under investigation over social media posts - including a suggestion that the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, was 'a Jewish supremacy cesspit'.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service ruled last month that no suspension was necessary.
But now the General Medical Council, which had brought that original case demanding she be suspended, has now had the case referred back to the MPTS.
A new hearing date has been set for October 23, it has been revealed.
A GMC spokesman told how the doctors' watchdog had 'referred Dr Rahmeh Aladwan to an Interim Orders Tribunal', adding: 'The GMC will make a referral where it believes an interim order is necessary to protect the public or public confidence in doctors during an investigation.'
Dr Aladwan, of British-Palestinian descent, was allowed to keep her job after she allegedly denied the Holocaust, describing it as a 'concept' and 'fabricated victim narrative' - while also calling Israeli people 'worse than Nazis'.
The MPTS ruled that Dr Aladwan would be able to continue to practice after concluding her previous posts did not amount to 'bullying or harassment'.
This was despite the GMC doctors' watchdog telling the medical tribunal that Jewish patients would not feel safe under her care.
Following the ruling, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he had no faith in the medical regulator - writing on X: 'The racist language of "Jewish supremacy" reflects the values of Nazis, not the NHS.'
Dr Aladwan has since sparked fresh controversy after sharing a news article about members of the public being urged to stay away from A&E departments in Greater Manchester unless in need of urgent medical treatment.
She shared the post last Thursday - just hours after Jihad Al-Shamie's terrorist attack outside a synagogue in Manchester that resulted in the death of two people.
In a response, Dr Aladwan claimed that the decision 'effectively places a specific community’s security above the healthcare of the entire population, creating a dangerous and discriminatory precedent'.
She did later clarify that the lockdown only applied to A&E services.
Dr Aladwan also shared a post from a Palestinian journalist named Abubaker Abed, which read: 'Apparently, the lives of 4 Jews in Manchester are more significant than 53 lives of Muslims in Gaza.
'This is racism and Jewish supremacism. This is Western civilisation.'
Controversy surrounding Dr Aladwan erupted earlier this year after several social media posts from the NHS doctor were uncovered.
This included a claim that 'British Jewish children are taught that they are superior to non-Jews, that they have the right to colonise Palestine, and are groomed through birthright trips to become colonisers'.
On July 30, she claimed that the Royal Free Hospital in north London, which serves a large Jewish community, was a 'Jewish supremacy cesspit' has also previously said 'I will never condemn the 7th of October'.
In other social media posts, believed to be written by Dr Aladwan, she described anti-Semitism and the Holocaust as 'concepts' used by Jewish people to 'promote a narrative of victimhood'.
Following her comments, the General Medical Council, which regulates the conduct of NHS doctors, referred her to the MPTS.
The GMC had asked the tribunal to impose an 12-month interim order of conditions on Dr Aladwan while an investigation was carried out.
This would have placed restrictions on a doctor's practice, including that they be supervised or requiring them to undergo further training.
Counsel for the GMC, Isobel Thomas described these conditions as necessary due the 'nature and seriousness of the allegations'.
She told the hearing that Dr Aladwan's posts 'appear to demonise Israelis and Jews' and described the Holocaust 'as a fabricated victim narrative'.
Dr Aladwan's social media posts were alleged to have included 'justification of terrorism, denial of sexual violence, spreading of antisemitic conspiracy theories, misuse of Holocaust imagery'.
One complainant highlighted posts including footage said to show Dr Aladwan 'at a pro-Palestinian concert (July 2024) where she does a ‘slit your throat’ hand gesture towards the counterprotesters (who are mainly Jewish)'.
The tribunal ruled there was not sufficient evidence to show that Dr Aladwan posed a real risk to patients.
It added that allowing her to remain practising would not undermine public confidence in the medical profession.
In a speech after she left the tribunal building, Dr Aladwan said she hoped the ruling would encourage other medical professionals to 'speak up'.
Mr Streeting has continued to condemn the MPTS's ruling - and this week vowed to overhaul the way medical regulators investigate cases of antisemitism, saying the current system was failing to protect Jewish people.
Mr Streeting said: 'We must be unequivocal that antisemitism has absolutely no place in our NHS, or anywhere in our society.'
The GMC and the MPTS presently assess the conduct of doctors and decide whether sanctions - such as being struck off the medical register - are necessary.
Campaigners say antisemitism has been able to 'fester unchecked' in the NHS and medical profession since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023.
Mr Streeting said: 'Two years on from the horrific events of October 7 and just days after a despicable attack on our nation's Jewish community, we must be unequivocal that antisemitism has absolutely no place in our NHS, or anywhere in our society.
'The NHS is a universal health service, which means that everyone, regardless of race, religion, or creed, should feel safe seeking its care.
'I deplore the fact that this is frankly not the current reality for many Jewish patients and staff, and I am determined to change this for once and for all.
'It should go without saying that doctors making racist comments about Jewish people is abhorrent and demands action. Yet all too often, appropriate action by regulators has been sorely lacking.
'It is clear that the current medical regulatory system is completely failing to protect Jewish patients and NHS staff.
'I am looking urgently at how we can overhaul the current regime, which has been found completely wanting.'
The Jewish News reported in July that 454 complaints of antisemitism have been submitted to the General Medical Council (GMC) since October 7 2023.
Some 84 per cent were closed at the triage stage, though it said this is in line with the percentage of general complaints against doctors closed at an early stage of proceedings.
A GMC spokesperson has said: 'Antisemitism has no place in healthcare.
'We make clear what we expect from doctors through our guidance to them and our fitness to practise processes reinforce these expectations.
'We do this so patients' trust in the professions we regulate is maintained, and they receive good, safe care.'
The GMC today said: 'The General Medical Council has referred Dr Rahmeh Aladwan to an Interim Orders Tribunal.
'The GMC will make a referral where it believes an interim order is necessary to protect the public or public confidence in doctors during an investigation.'
Law firm Rahman Lowe, representing Dr Aladwan, has hit back at Mr Streeting's comments in a letter to the Health Secretary.
In a statement, the London based company said: 'The letter expresses grave concern about the minister’s intervention in live quasi-judicial proceedings, without knowledge of the evidence or submissions before the MPTS.
'The comments, made in apparent alignment with complainants, undermines the independence of regulatory and judicial processes and raise serious questions about the Secretary of State’s adherence to the Ministerial Code, the House of Commons Code of Conduct, and the principle of the Rule of Law.
'We have demanded that the Minister ceases all further commentary or involvement in Dr Aladwan’s case, and that he discloses details of any meetings or communications held with complainants or the GMC.'

No comments:
Post a Comment