JUNIOR paediatrician Hadiza Bawa-Garba, who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter and struck off, won her appeal for reinstatement as a doctor today.

The Court of Appeal ruled that Ms Bawa-Garba, who was struck off after the General Medical Council (GMC) appealed against its own tribunal’s decision to suspend her, could return to practise, subject to a review of her suspension.

Master of the Rolls Terence Etherton said: “Undoubtedly, there are some cases where the facts are such that the most severe sanction, erasure, is the only proper and reasonable sanction. This is not one of them.”

Jack Adcock died aged six from septic shock at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011.

Ms Bawa-Garba, the most senior junior doctor on the ward on her return from 14 months maternity leave, initially misdiagnosed Jack’s sepsis as a stomach bug.

She was found guilty at Nottingham crown court in 2015, but the medical practitioners tribunal nonetheless found that she did not present a “continuing risk to patients.”

The GMC successfully pursued the case to the High Court, but its decision has now been overturned.

Doctors’ Association UK chair Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden said: “This is a small step in the right direction for patients and doctors.

“The GMC needs to rethink its priorities in enabling this to happen, rather than aggressively pursuing doctors in the courts.”

GMC chief executive Charlie Massey said the organisation apologised for the “anguish and uncertainty” that the proceedings had caused to the Adcock family, Dr Bawa-Garba and the wider medical profession.

He added that the regulator would “carefully examine the court’s decision to see what lessons can be learnt.”