Background: I am Dr Gladys Ngozika Johnson-Ogbuneke, a Registrar Orthopaedics, trainee doctor struck off by the General Medical Council GMC, in April 2015, following intense and false allegations against me, from a Consultant, Mr Christopher Rand who had harassed me when I was his Registrar in October 2010, for being a Black female doctor, seeking a career in Orthopaedics & Trauma Surgery whilst working at the Princess Royal University Hospital NHS Trust, Bromley. He would chase me to my next Hospital posting at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke-On-Trent and in collaboration with Mr Jon Dwyer (Consultant Paediatric Surgeon), they took me to the GMC in August 2011 treating me very differently from other Orthopaedic Registrars whom I had worked with at both Hospitals, and as held for any other trainee doctor in the NHS Trust Hospitals.

Many Black trainee doctors like Dr Bawa-Garba and myself, have been disproportionately punished by the GMC, blamed and not allowed to learn, despite having had to work in the face of much salient system failures.  

I had worked in the NHS Trust Hospitals for over 14 years being in Good Standing with the GMC. I have excellent letters of attestations of my work from Consultants and Professors in Orthopaedics & Trauma Surgery both in the UK and the USA. In August 2008, I took up an International Trauma Orthopaedic Fellowship program at the University of Louisville Hospital, Kentucky USA.  I carried out a research study – COMPARATIVE COST ANALYSIS OF COMBINED PERCUTANEOUS FIXATEUR AND EARLY SURGICAL FIXATION V DELAYED OPEN REDUCTION & INTERNAL FIXATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TIBIAL PILON FRACTURE & ANKLE FRACTURE – a One Year Study. GN Johnson-Ogbuneke et al. (June 2010). 

My Paper was accepted and I defended my research findings at the European Orthopaedics Research Society EORS/AO Summit, in Davos Switzerland in June 2010. The Outcome of this research, I humbly but sincerely submit, has changed an over 50-years-old practice of ankle trauma management in the NHS Trust Hospitals in the United Kingdom. Ironically, the GMC has allowed the full implementation of this Research Protocol, value of  which provides to the NHS Trust Hospitals, nearly £5 Million  yearly in savings  for each of the over 200 NHS Trust Hospitals in the United Kingdom. Sadly, the General Medical Council has ridiculed my efforts, made me a ‘bad doctor’ and struck me off from the medical registrar, thus preventing me from enjoying any part of the benefit of my work, and completing my training.

Purpose: I am seeking an appeal at the Courts with legal representation to challenge the decision of the Medical Practitioner’s Tribunal Service MPTS to strike me off the medical registrar on the balance of probability proof, rather than on actual clinical works as in patients’ records, and proved of any errors beyond reasonable doubts.  Secondly, I hope that  the UK Public and others by this crowdfunding, are fully made aware of my case,  to know of  the harsh and disproportionate punishment that the GMC deals with some doctors of ethnic minority background, to disintegrate our careers and specialist training contrary to the statutory provisions in the Equality Act (2010).

On two occasions, the GMC took me to the Manchester High Court before HHJ Pelling (25/09/2014) and HHJ Waksman (05/01/ 2015). The learned Judges, reminded the GMC that as “a trainee doctor” I ought “to be allowed to complete training, under the supervision of Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons”. However, the GMC took no heed to the Orders of Judgement, but proceeded to array me before the MPTS Hearing  in March 2015 and took away my right to learn, and to practice medicine in the UK in April 2015.I privately paid for my medico-legal costs.

I worked at the Heart of England Foundation NHS Trust Hospitals, Birmingham between December 2011 and July 2014 and despite excellent testimonials from my Consultants and colleague Registrars to the Panel, the GMC forced that I be struck off the medical  registrar in April 2015 for work outcomes, and  though a trainee doctor between October 2010 and June 2011. How fair is this?

I have been privately funding my medico-legal costs in this GMC Case, but was financially constraint in April 2015. I was therefore not legally represented at the MPTS Hearing of March 2015. However, with this crowdfunding, I can continue to seek for justice and fairness in this case, and to help ensure that other doctors are not similarly and disproportionately  treated. I plead with you, please kindly donate and support my Cause as I need to raise up to £60,000 for legal costs.

In the light of the Outcome of the Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba’s Case (August 2018) in that the Court of Appeal, ruled that trainee doctors are to learn and not blamed, I continue my quest for justice for my career and for others. The GMC and her MPTS Panel, concluded against me, differently from the TRUE findings in the patients’ clinical notes and negated the contributions of other doctors to any of the case(s).  I challenge the GMC to make available the clinical notes showing my work for each patient, and treat me in the same way that all the other doctors, Mr Alfred Franklin (Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon under whom I had carried out a surgery), Dr Mark Ockendon (colleague Registrar, with whom we had seen same patient) for which Mr Jon Dwyer took me to the GMC in August 2011. Please kindly donate and support my Cause. Thank you.