IKWUEKE: BABY P DOCTOR CAN RETURN TO WORK

The GP who failed to spot the horrific abuse suffered by Baby P before his death won his bid to return to work today (THURS).

Dr Jerome Ikwueke, 64, was suspended for 12 months last July after he was found to have made a series of blunders in his care of the toddler.

He failed to ‘fully and properly’ examine 17-month-old Peter Connelly on July 26, 2007, just eight days before he died.

But the General Medical today ruled he could return to work, subject to strict conditions.

If he does not appeal the decision, he could be treating patients as soon as his current suspension expires on August 18.

At a review hearing in central London, the GP admitted he had been guilty of ‘a serious of error of judgement’ and said the outcome could have been different if he had conducted a home visit in the 
days leading up to Peter’s death.

He has since undertaken several courses in child protection and implemented new practices in his surgery, where he says he has a stronger support network to ensure no child slips through the net again.

Panel chair Prof Brian Gomes da Costa told Dr Ikwueke: ‘The panel is satisfied that it is sufficient and proportionate, weighing the interests of the public with your interests, to impose conditions.

‘Your registration shall be subject to these conditions for 12 months and this period will give you an opportunity to demonstrate that you have embedded your insight and learning into your clinical practice, and that your skills and knowledge are up to date.’

Under the conditions set out, Dr Ikwueke will be banned from working in private practice, as a locum or out of hours, and he will have to work at a GP practice with at least two other members.

He will also be limited to eight face-to-face clinical sessions every week.

In addition, he must inform the GMC of any new work he undertakes, inform his employers he is subject to conditions and draw up a personal development plan to improve his skills and knowledge.

Dr Ikwueke saw Baby P at his surgery in Tottenham, north London, at least 14 times between May 2006 and July 2007 and was found guilty of serious failings by the GMC last year.

But members decided to suspend him rather than strike him off the medical register after concluding he did not pose a risk to patients and had taken steps to remedy issues identified in the case.

Baby Peter died at the hands of his mother Tracey Connelly, boyfriend Stephen Barker and his brother Jason Owen on August 3, 2007.

Dr Ikwueke repeatedly failed to properly examine the child or to question Connelly’s explanations for injuries, the panel was told.

The Nigerian trained doctor did refer Peter to the Whittington Hospital and he was placed on the child protection list when Connelly brought him to the surgery in December 2006 with more unexplained 
bruises.

But on two further visits on January 25 and 18 May, 2007, Dr Ikwueke failed to inspect the child for injuries or bruising.

When he received a letter from Haringey social worker Maria Ward on July 5, 2007, asking for information on Peter, he ignored the request.

Eight days before Peter’s death his mother took the 17-month-old to see the GP on July 26, 2007, with head lice, a bleeding ear and scabs on his scalp.

The doctor failed to carry out an adequate examination of the child or refer him for an urgent assessment.

He later told police after Peter’s death that he had shown ‘markedly changed behaviour’ and had pulled away from him but Ikwueke failed to  record this in his notes.

Ikwueke qualified in Nigeria in 1974 before moving to the UK in 1979.

He worked at various hospitals in London and the southeast before returning to Nigeria in 1984 to work as a consultant physician and cardiologist.

Ikwueke returned to the UK in 1991 to train as a GP and set up as an independent practitioner in Grove Road, Tottenham.

He was on the Haringey Primary Care Trust’s GP list and employed two other doctors to help with a list of 3,500 patients.

Tracey Connelly, 28, her boyfriend Steven Barker, 33, and his brother Jason Owen, 38, were all jailed for their part in the sustained abuse of the toddler.

ends