Baby P doctor wins ‘erasure’ chance

A doctor accused of failing to spot that Baby P had a broken back days before his death has won a crucial High Court battle in her bid to avoid a disciplinary hearing.

A judge granted consultant paediatrician Dr Sabah Al-Zayyat a new opportunity to apply for “voluntary erasure” from the medical register on health grounds. If she is successful, she would not have to appear at any disciplinary ­hearing.

The General Medical Council (GMC) says granting the 54-year-old doctor’s request would mean derailing the high-profile public misconduct investigation into her care of Baby P, which is already under way.

But Mr Justice Mitting, sitting in London, ruled that a decision of a GMC fitness to practise panel to reject her request for erasure was “perverse” and must be quashed.

The judge ruled there was “no sufficient evidential basis” for the panel’s decision and ordered that her case be reconsidered by a fresh panel.