High Court quashes misconduct finding

A decision of the Medical Council and its fitness to practise committee that a doctor was guilty of professional misconduct has been quashed by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.

He said that while Dr Samuel McManus had accepted responsibility for wrongly altering a patient’s medical notes while a senior house officer in the Mater Hospital in Dublin, he had not been afforded fair procedures during an inquiry.

Mr Justice Kearns said the importance of adhering scrupulously to the requirements of fair procedures was central to the proper conduct of disciplinary processes which might result in serious sanctions for the person concerned.