Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service determination — substantive hearing
Suspended from practice — 6 months
The regulator’s term: suspension
What does “suspended from practice” mean?
A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.
Concerning Tijjani Shehu, doctor (General Medical Council 4455147).
Decision date: 10 December 2025 · Hearing started 1 December 2025 and ended 10 December 2025
This sanction period has elapsed.
In plain English
The MPTS tribunal found that Dr Shehu, a locum Consultant Physician, failed to provide adequate care to Patient A on 28 December 2022, including failing to consider diagnoses other than deep vein thrombosis, take an adequate history, arrange appropriate investigations, or implement an adequate treatment plan. Patient A died the following day. Dr Shehu admitted all the allegations. The tribunal found limited insight and incomplete remediation, and imposed a 6-month suspension with a review hearing directed.
Charges
The GMC alleged that on 28 December 2022, Dr Shehu reviewed Patient A in the Emergency Department of King's Mill Hospital and failed to: recognise Patient A's documented history of vomiting and fever; take an adequate history including symptoms of cough, sputum, dysuria and diarrhoea; consider an alternative diagnosis to deep vein thrombosis; arrange appropriate further investigations including blood cultures, urine cultures, skin swab, chest X-ray, repeat blood gas and liver ultrasound; implement an adequate treatment plan including blood culture sampling, intravenous antibiotics, intravenous fluids and oxygen assessment; and adequately record the history, blood test results, Doppler ultrasound result and lactate result. The GMC further alleged that these failings caused a delay in the correct diagnosis and treatment of Patient A. All allegations were admitted and found proved. Patient A died on 29 December 2022.
Findings
The Tribunal found that all admitted allegations were proved. Dr Shehu's failings fell seriously below the standard expected of a reasonably competent Consultant Physician and amounted to serious professional misconduct. The Tribunal determined his fitness to practise was impaired. It assessed the misconduct as at the top end of the medium range of risk to public protection. The Tribunal found that Dr Shehu had limited insight, his remediation was incomplete, and a risk of repetition remained. A 6-month suspension was imposed with a review hearing directed and an immediate order of suspension applied.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Dr Shehu admitted all allegations at the outset of proceedings. He expressed genuine remorse and apologised to Patient A's family. He acknowledged the impact on colleagues and the wider profession. He had no previous adverse fitness to practise history. He had provided many years of clinical service. He had undertaken some remedial learning. His misconduct was not repeated or persistent. The Tribunal found it was not reckless. The Coroner noted systemic as well as individual failings in Patient A's care.
Aggravating factors
Dr Shehu's insight was limited and far from fully developed; he was unable to articulate why he made the basic and fundamental errors. His remediation was late, with no objective evidence of targeted learning related to sepsis prior to October 2025, despite being aware of GMC concerns since May 2024. Inconsistencies in his evidence were at odds with his claim to have reflected deeply. The case involved the death of a 34-year-old patient with no significant past medical history. Dr Shehu was the Consultant ultimately responsible for Patient A's care.
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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