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Ruling over sacked brain surgeon Surgeon owed £400k after ruling
(about 12 hours later)
Details of a High Court ruling over the case of a consultant dismissed by an NHS trust by the wrong disciplinary procedure are being released later. A health trust has two weeks to give a sacked hospital consultant more than £400,000 in back pay following a high court ruling.
Tim Buxton, a neurosurgeon at Morriston Hospital, was sacked from his £70,000-a-year post in June 2005 after claims working relationships had broken down.Tim Buxton, a neurosurgeon at Morriston Hospital, was sacked from his £70,000-a-year post in June 2005 after claims working relationships had broken down.
The High Court ruled in 2007 Swansea NHS Trust was in breach of contract over its dismissal procedure. The High Court ruled in 2007 that Swansea NHS Trust was in breach of contract over its dismissal procedure.
A second ruling has now been made over Mr Buxton's fight for reinstatement. The trust said it accepted the ruling and would not be appealing.
It now must back pay Mr Buxton until the outcome of a disciplinary panel.
Swansea NHS Trust asked Mr Buxton to take "special leave" in 2003 over concerns raised by clinical colleagues.Swansea NHS Trust asked Mr Buxton to take "special leave" in 2003 over concerns raised by clinical colleagues.
He was on NHS pay for two years before the trust said it had "no alternative" but to dismiss him.He was on NHS pay for two years before the trust said it had "no alternative" but to dismiss him.
An appeal hearing in 2006 was abandoned after the British Medical Association (BMA) said there had been a meeting between the three-person appeals panel and hospital lawyers. He immediately appealed the decision and since then the British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru Wales, Welsh assembly members and dozens of former patients have been fighting to get Mr Buxton reinstated.
The BMA sought a declaration before the High Court, and in June 2007 Judge Simon Brown QC at the High Court in Birmingham ruled Swansea NHS Trust's senior management had been in breach of contract when it used the wrong section of disciplinary procedures to dismiss Mr Buxton. It (Swansea NHS Trust) has wasted NHS funds on legal costs to deny Mr Buxton his rights Andrew Cross, BMA Cymru Wales
A hearing in 2006 was abandoned after BMA Cymru Wales said there had been a meeting between the three-person appeals panel and hospital lawyers.
The BMA Cymru Wales sought a declaration before the high court, and in June 2007 Judge Simon Brown QC at the high court in Birmingham ruled the trust's senior management had been in breach of contract when it used the wrong section of disciplinary procedures to dismiss Mr Buxton.
Swansea NHS Trust said at the time it intended to appeal against the ruling.Swansea NHS Trust said at the time it intended to appeal against the ruling.
The BMA Wales said the judge had now made a second ruling. In his second ruling, Judge Brown ordered the trust to pay Mr Buxton back pay from June 2005 up until the future date of the professional appeal.
Andrew Cross, Mr Buxton's BMA Cymru Wales representative, said that had the trust used the correct disciplinary procedure from the beginning, Mr Buxton would have been entitled to be paid pending his appeal.
"It is very regrettable that the trust has seen fit to deny Mr Buxton his contractual right to a professional hearing and his pay for the past three-and-half years," he said.
"Rather, it has wasted NHS funds on legal costs to deny Mr Buxton his rights."
Back pay
Mr Cross said the judge had denied the trust leave to appeal and he made an immediate order for an interim payment to be made by the trust.
"The trust have 14 days to pay the judgement debt figure of £430,534.89 plus interest representing Mr Buxton's back pay since his dismissal in 2005," he said.
"The high court's decision means that the trust must keep Mr Buxton on its books and in receipt of pay until the outcome of the professional disciplinary panel chaired by Mr Andrew Stafford QC is known."
Mr Buxton said he was delighted at the result and thanked BMA Cymru Wales and the patients who had supported him in his fight.
The new ABM University NHS Trust Board will examine the judgment carefully and will take appropriate advice before considering any next steps Win Griffiths, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University NHS Trust
Welsh Secretary of the BMA, Dr Richard Lewis said it was "astonishing" patients had recognised the importance of retaining Mr Buxton but the trust had not.
He added that BMA Cymru Wales would be pursuing what the case had cost the health service in Wales
"It has taken nearly four years to get this trust to do the right thing by this highly trained and highly regarded neurosurgeon," said Dr Lewis.
"During this time BMA Cymru Wales has been urging the trust to follow the correct procedures and stop wasting public money on lawyers.
"The people of Swansea, as well as being denied the expert skills of Mr Buxton, have also seen the trust fritter their money away on legal costs."
Win Griffiths, chairman of the new Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University NHS Trust, said it was disappointed with the outcome of the court case and that it had taken so long to reach this position.
"However it has accepted the court's judgment and will not be appealing," he said.
"The new ABM University NHS Trust Board will examine the judgment carefully and will take appropriate advice before considering any next steps."