MPTS pilot scheme in good health as BPP students help doctors

A pilot scheme launched by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which gives law students the chance to help unrepresented doctors who have been referred for a fitness-to-practise hearing, is enjoying early success.

The scheme began in December 2014 and students have already conducted telephone consultations with doctors, giving them pro bono advice on how to prepare for a hearing and what to expect on the day.

Seven of BPP University’s Manchester-based law students are currently involved in the scheme, to which they dedicate two days per week of voluntary service. The LPC and BPTC students receive full training from the MPTS.

Lucy Wildig, BPP’s pro bono manager for the Northwest, said: "This is a wholly unique project that highlights just how far-reaching the need for pro bono services can be. The project gives students a hands-on experience of a different area of law, while helping unrepresented doctors feel reassured about a process which may be alien to them."

She added: "We’ve had some fantastic feedback from both our students and the doctors they’ve offered information to, so we’re delighted with how the scheme has started."

His Honour David Pearl, chair of the MPTS and retired deputy High Court judge, highlighted the scheme in a Health Select Committee meeting at the House of Commons on 6 January 2015. He said: "In 2014 15% of doctors who were referred to the MPTS for fitness to practise hearings represented themselves, which can be a stressful and daunting prospect for some. We hope that the telephone information service will alleviate some of the pressures and help those doctors without legal representation understand the process and prepare themselves to appear before a panel."