GP caught drink-driving twice allowed to carry on working due to shortage of doctors
A GP twice caught drink-driving told a disciplinary panel his weekend shifts were vital due to a shortage of doctors.
Dr John Thompson, 74, also reckoned that being allowed to carry on working was a “privilege”.
A GP for 44 years, he agreed to undertake out-of-hours work following his retirement in 2013.
But Dr Thompson got a drink-drive ban in 2018 after crashing his BMW motorbike. He had also crashed the bike in 2015 while twice the limit.
Dr Thompson, of Conwy, North Wales, got a written warning after the first incident.
Last year he faced a disciplinary panel again but was allowed to work while under supervision.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service has now lifted the restriction.
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Dr Thompson said the weekend shifts were “particularly short of doctors”.
He went on: “I remain sober and vigilant against errors of judgment.”
The panel heard colleagues described him as “an excellent clinician” and said they found him “very much humbled and shamed by his actions”.
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