UK Neurologist - Investigated and Put on Trial for His Pro-Life Beliefs - Wins Big Victory

The United Kingdom's General Medical Council (GMC) has exonerated an experienced consultant neurologist and ordained Catholic priest after he was investigated for three years for giving a 'pro-life' medical opinion in an end-of-life court case.

The Rev. Dr. Patrick Pullicino, 74, faced an investigation by the GMC which could have resulted in him being barred from the profession.

In a career spanning 50 years, he had never faced a "fitness to practice" investigation until he was targeted by Celia Kitzinger, an assisted suicide campaigner, according to Christian Concern.

Represented by attorneys with the Christian Legal Centre, Dr. Pullicino is best known as one of the few doctors who first raised the alarm in 2012 over the abuses carried out under the Liverpool Care Pathway, a method of looking after terminally ill patients that was used in hospitals across the UK. This led to the end-of-life code being rescinded two years later. 

Pullicino's case highlights the growing pressure on medical professionals not to break ranks with colleagues who had made a controversial decision that would end a patient's life. In sensitive end-of-life cases, dissenting medical experts risk severe criticism by courts and activists, leading to protracted and stressful investigations by professional regulators, according to Christian Concern.

The not-for-profit watchdog said the GMC investigation centered on Dr. Pullicino's role in the case of a middle-aged Polish man known by the anonymous name of RS. The man had suffered brain damage after having a heart attack in early November 2020 and the U.K.'s Court of Protection had ordered the removal of his feeding tube and fluids. 

Within a few days, the clinical team at Plymouth Hospital had concluded that 'RS' had no prospects of recovering beyond spending the rest of his life in a 'minimally conscious state' (MCS).

The Court of Protection ignored the official requests by the Polish government which had asked the UK to permit the man's repatriation to Poland and ruled that prolonging his life was not in his "best interests."

RS's mother and two sisters sought to have Dr. Pullicino as their medical expert, but High Court Justice Cohen strongly criticized Pullicino's opinion that further observations and tests were necessary for a confident prognosis. The court likewise rejected the opinion of a Polish neurosurgeon who agreed with Pullicino.

RS died from dehydration after all nutrition and fluids were withdrawn in January 2021, according to Christian Concern. 

Accused of Trying to Save a Patient's Life

Kitzinger, a professor of gender and sexuality at the University of York, had been following the case and court proceedings. She accused Dr. Pullicino of bias for "trying to save a patient's life" and speculated that he "may have deliberately misdiagnosed the patient in the hope of saving his life" after he had given urgent assistance on Christmas Day, during a lockdown, to a family facing tragedy.

In a written complaint to the GMC, Kitzinger accused the doctor of bias because he was a Catholic and had expressed "pro-life values" in the courtroom.

Almost three years ago, the GMC notified Pullicino that it had opened an investigation based solely on Kitzinger's complaint, causing the doctor's revalidation to be put on hold. 

In announcing the conclusion of the case against Pullicino this month, the council said: "Dr. Pullicino is an experienced Consultant Neurologist, with specialist registration and a license to practice, and we have no evidence to suggest that he lacks competence to assess a patient's level of consciousness."

"We do not have evidence to support an allegation that {his medical opinion} was inaccurate," the GMC said. 

"We conclude that there is no realistic prospect of proving these allegations and they are concluded with no action," the council continued.

As to Dr. Pullicino's beliefs, it ruled: "No evidence was adduced to support the allegation that Dr Pullicino's religious faith or personal beliefs affected his opinion on Patient RS." 

In addition, the doctor's actions were backed by an expert consultant neurologist who said: "A doctor faced with an urgent request to halt the withdrawal of life-preserving treatment would regard his possible intervention as essential as soon as possible," according to Christian Concern. 

"I am relieved and pleased that the GMC has refused to take any further action against me. In an emergency situation, I was ambushed in the courtroom and then targeted by a militant 'Right to Die' campaigner with an agenda to attack, discredit, and caricature my medical opinion," Pullicino said in a statement. 

"From the beginning, it was a clear discriminatory attack on the medical opinion I gave because I am a Catholic Priest and believe medical professionals should do everything possible to save another human's life. The GMC should never have allowed an investigation to proceed against me, which was so clearly targeted against and based on my religious beliefs," he continued. 

"I am concerned that it has taken so long for me to be vindicated and cleared," Pullicino concluded. 

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, noted the irony of a doctor being under investigation for trying to save a life. 

"In a world where truth is becoming stranger than fiction, we are now seeing doctors who work to save lives becoming the ones investigated by the GMC. This tells us something about the culture of the GMC," Williams said in a statement. 

"We are delighted that Dr. Pullicino has been cleared, but it is deeply disturbing that this case got this far," she explained. 

"The case highlights the growing pressure on medical professionals not to break ranks with their colleagues who had taken a controversial decision to end a patient's life. In sensitive end-of-life cases, dissenting medical experts risk severe criticism by courts and activists, leading to protracted and stressful investigations by professional regulators," Williams said. 

The leader of the private Christian law firm said this was a targeted attack by Kitzinger which the GMC allowed to proceed instead of throwing out her complaint. 

"Instead, a respected professional has had the stress and cloud of an investigation hanging over him for three years. We need more doctors and experts who are prepared to be fearless in defending the patient's right to life," Williams concluded. 

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