R v Secretary of State for the Department of Health, ex parte Hickey
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 17 June 1992 |
| Date | 17 June 1992 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
Queen's Bench Division
Before Mr Justice Potts
Medical practitioner - defalcation - statutory sanctions - penal element
The use of the word "sanctions" in the statutory provisions for the regulation of the medical profession was intended to imply a penal element and not merely to compensate the National Health Service for loss suffered as a result of a medical practitioner's defalcation.
Mr Justice Potts so held in the Queen's Bench Division when refusing the application of John Hickey for judicial review of the decision of the Secretary of State for the Department of Health to withhold £2,000 of his remuneration following a finding by the medical service committee of a breach of his terms of service.
Mr David Pannick, QC, for Dr Hickey; Mr Nigel Pleming, QC, for the secretary of state.
MR JUSTICE POTTS said that the medical service committee, pursuant to regulations 6 to 10 and 14 of the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations (SI 1974 No 455) recommended to the family practitioner committee that £2,000 be withheld from the applicant's remuneration for his breach of his terms of service . Having heard representations, the secretary of state proposed the withholding accordingly.
The application for judicial review was made on the ground that such a withholding was intended by the regulations to be compensation for loss to the NHS and one of that size was so excessive as to be in the nature of a penalty not intended by the regulations.
If the regulations unequivocally gave to the secretary of state the power to withhold sums in excess of what it would have recovered for breach of contract special damages then the applicant could not succeed.
Section 17(3) of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 made it clear that regulations made under earlier Acts remained in force.
Under section 17(1)(c)...
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