Psychiatrist Timothy Paul Byrne struck off - sexually motivated conduct
Dear General Medical Council,
I have been unable to find the MPT determination concerning Dr Timothy Paul Byrne on the GMC website. I have searched using each of his forenames. Reference is made to the decision in Byrne v GMC [2021] EWHC 2237 (Admin):
'3. The Appellant is a consultant psychiatrist. Patient A is a woman aged 53 and has been treated by mental health services since she was 16. Patient A was a patient of the Appellant between 2007 and 2016. In late 2016 Patient A reported to another therapist that she had had an inappropriate relationship with the Appellant between 2011 and 2013. She made allegations of physical and emotional intimacy, including kissing, touching and more serious sexual acts in 2012. These complaints were reported by the other therapist to the local NHS authority. There was a local investigation, culminating in a warning. The matter was then referred to the GMC who brought proceedings before the Tribunal. After a hearing in July 2019, in March 2020 the Tribunal found a number of allegations of fact proved and went on to find that those findings of fact amounted to misconduct and impairment of fitness to practise. On 30 July 2020 the Tribunal imposed the sanction of erasure.'
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Adm...
1. Please provide a copy of the MPT determination relating Dr Byrne.
I note that in this case the activities of Dr Byrne first came to light in 2016:
'34. Patient A saw Mr Simoes for about a year, before making disclosures to him in September 2016 about her relationship with the Appellant.'
2. Of all tribunals concluded in 2020/21 concerning allegations of a sexual nature against doctors, please provide information on the time taken from the date the allegations first became known to the date the tribunal decisions were promulgated.
3. Please provide all recorded information relating to timescales for dealing with cases involving allegations of a sexual nature.
Yours faithfully,
J Roberts
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Dear J Roberts
Your information request - IR1-3175065629
Thank you for your email dated 12/08/2021, in which you request
- MPT determination relating to Dr Timothy Paul Byrne
- The time taken from allegation received date to tribunal decision for all tribunals concluded in 2020-2021 concerning allegations of a sexual nature against doctors
- All recorded information relating to timescales for dealing with cases involving allegations of a sexual nature.
How we will consider your request
We’re going to consider your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). The FOIA gives us 20 working days to respond, but we’ll come back to you as soon as we can.
Who to contact
Matt McCoig-Lees will be handling your request. If you have any questions you can call him on 0161 923 6579 or email him at [email address].
Yours sincerely
Information Access Team
General Medical Council
3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3AW
Dear Mx Roberts
I write further to previous correspondence with a partial response under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Unfortunately, due to delays in obtaining analytical data about the
timescales, I am not able to answer your second question at this time. I
apologise for the delay regarding this question. However, I am able to
answer questions one and three now.
In relation to question one, I understand the determination in relation to
Dr Byrne is now available on LRMP.
In relation to question three, there are no specific timescales for
processing complaints ‘involving allegations of a sexual nature,’ so no
documentation specifically on timescales of for this kind of case.
However, I would anticipate being able to provide some additional
commentary about timescales of GMC investigations when we provide our
response to question two.
I hope the information I am able to provide at this time is helpful and I
will revert back to you in relation to question two as soon as possible.
---
Kind Regards
Matt
Matthew McCoig-Lees
Information Access Officer
Information Access Team
General Medical Council
3 Hardman Street
Manchester
M3 3AW
Email: [email address]
Website: www.gmc-uk.org
Tel: 0161 923 6579
Dear J Roberts
I write further to previous correspondence with a final response under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
You asked:
Of all tribunals concluded in 2020/21 concerning allegations of a sexual
nature against doctors, please provide information on the time taken from
the date the allegations first became known to the date the tribunal
decisions were promulgated.
I have interpreted this to mean the length of time from the date that a
formal complaint was made to the GMC to the date the subsequent hearing
finished. However, it’s important to understand that the qualifying
allegation of a sexual nature could have been made at any point in the
investigation i.e it could have been the trigger for the investigation or
could have come at a point after the investigation had started.
Determining what constitutes an allegation of a sexual nature is also
somewhat subjective. The date of the last hearing to be included is 7
October 2021.
The median average length of time from the date that a formal complaint
was made to the GMC to the date of subsequent hearings is 832.5 days.
In understanding this figure, it’s important to understand that many
complaints to us concerning allegations of a sexual nature are made
concurrent to an active police investigation (and subsequent CPS
prosecution). We do what work is possible without prejudicing the
investigation or prosecution and placing investigations on hold entirely
is a last resort. However, it is still common for our investigations to be
put on hold for some time while these processes are concluded and
restarted on their completion. Any time spent on hold is included in the
figure provided.
I had previously said that we do not have specific timescales for
processing complaints ‘involving allegations of a sexual nature,’ but that
I may be able to provide some additional information about timescales. In
general terms, we aim for 90% of cases to have had a Case Examiner
decision within six months and 95% within 12 months. We also expect 90% of
cases to reach a Tribunal hearing within nine months of being referred by
a Case Examiner.
I hope this information is helpful.
---
Kind Regards
Matt
Matthew McCoig-Lees
Information Access Officer
Information Access Team
General Medical Council
3 Hardman Street
Manchester
M3 3AW
Email: [1][email address]
Website: [2]www.gmc-uk.org
Tel: 0161 923 6579
[3][IMG]
From: Matthew McCoig-Lees (0161 923 6579)
Sent: 10 September 2021 14:32
To: [FOI #781806 email]
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Psychiatrist Timothy Paul
Byrne struck off - sexually motivated conduct
Dear Mx Roberts
I write further to previous correspondence with a partial response under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Unfortunately, due to delays in obtaining analytical data about the
timescales, I am not able to answer your second question at this time. I
apologise for the delay regarding this question. However, I am able to
answer questions one and three now.
In relation to question one, I understand the determination in relation to
Dr Byrne is now available on LRMP.
In relation to question three, there are no specific timescales for
processing complaints ‘involving allegations of a sexual nature,’ so no
documentation specifically on timescales of for this kind of case.
However, I would anticipate being able to provide some additional
commentary about timescales of GMC investigations when we provide our
response to question two.
I hope the information I am able to provide at this time is helpful and I
will revert back to you in relation to question two as soon as possible.
---
Kind Regards
Matt
Matthew McCoig-Lees
Information Access Officer
Information Access Team
General Medical Council
3 Hardman Street
Manchester
M3 3AW
Email: [4][email address]
Website: [5]www.gmc-uk.org
Tel: 0161 923 6579
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