DOCTORS, dentists and surgeons suspended by the NHS were promised quicker and fairer hearings yesterday under a new code of guidance designed to cut the £40million annual cost of suspensions. The new guidelines, which come more than five years after a review of the system was first promised, follow a damning report by the National Audit Office which called many suspensions a “serious waste” of resources as well as being damaging to the staff involved.While many suspensions are justified by doubts about the competence of an individual, others are triggered by personal feuds and animosities. Staff are often suspended on full pay for years while inquiries meander on without resolving the issues…[You can read the report by the Audit Commission on their website at http://www.nao.gov.uk/pn/02-03/02031143.htm ]

The Times