Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service determination — substantive hearing
MPTS tribunal finds Dr Ross McDowell not impaired after anaesthetic machine misconduct
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel found Dr Ross McDowell committed serious misconduct by taking substances from anaesthetic machines and administering them to himself, but ruled his fitness to practise is not impaired and imposed no warning.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 3 July 2026 · Updated 17 July 2026
No impairment found
Added to MedicWatch: 17 July 2026Report a correction
What does “no impairment found” mean?
The regulator considered the case and found that the practitioner's fitness to practise was not currently impaired. No restrictions are imposed.
Concerning Ross McDowell, doctor (General Medical Council 7332602).
Decision date: 3 July 2026 · Hearing started 22 June 2026 and ended 3 July 2026
In plain English
The MPTS tribunal found that Dr Ross McDowell committed serious misconduct after he admitted taking substances from anaesthetic machines at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle in March and April 2024 and administering them to himself when it was not necessary. However, the tribunal decided his fitness to practise is not impaired, citing his insight and remediation, and did not issue a warning. It revoked his interim order.
Charges
That whilst working at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, between 9 March 2024 and 10 March 2024, and on 3 April 2024, Dr McDowell took [redacted] from the anaesthetic machines at Royal Victoria Infirmary and administered himself with [redacted] when it was not necessary to do so — admitted and found proved. It was alleged that by reason of those matters his fitness to practise was impaired because of misconduct. The published determination redacts references to confidential matters.
Findings
The tribunal found all facts admitted and proved and determined the conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct, noting Dr McDowell had made conscious choices only a year after the expiration of a GMC warning for similar conduct. However, in light of his insight, remediation, self-referral, candour and his decision to leave anaesthetics and retrain as a GP, it accepted the risk of repetition was between low and negligible and concluded his fitness to practise is not currently impaired. The tribunal decided a warning was not necessary and revoked the interim order of conditions with immediate effect.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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