British-Indian doctors' body joins judicial review challenge on PPE guidance

THE British Association for Physicians of Indian Origin has backed the judicial review proceedings launched by a doctor-couple against health authorities for “risky” guidance on personal protection equipment during the initial stages of the pandemic.

Reports on Friday (17) highlighted that the junior doctors, Meenal Viz and Nishant Joshi, named BAPIO as an “interested party” in its legal battle against the health department and Public Health England on PPE guidance, which they alleged exposed healthcare workers to Covid-19.

The couple’s case claimed that the official guidance had failed to warn health and social care workers on the risks they faced, and inform them about their legal rights to refuse to work if PPE available was inadequate.

“We don’t want to be doing this. We didn’t plan on doing this. We’re doctors in a pandemic. We want to focus on saving lives and stitching this country back together,” Dr Viz and Dr Joshi said in a statement while initiating legal action last month.

“But we have been pushed into taking action by the government’s refusal to address the issues we have raised.”

The doctors’ body said it would “support wholeheartedly” the “important legal action”, noting that over 300 health and social care workers (HSCWs) had “made the ultimate sacrifice whilst caring for and protecting patients”.

“BAPIO has an unimpeachable interest in this matter; we are the largest organisation representing BAME HSCWs – a group who has suffered, and continues to suffer, disproportionately from the impact of Covid-19 in terms of infections and fatalities,” it added.

Dr Ramesh Mehta OBE, president of BAPIO, said: “This case by Dr Joshi and Dr Viz is vital in establishing the obligation of government and its official bodies in the protection of HSCWs against a second wave of Covid-19 and future pandemics.”

On being named as an interested party, BAPIO appointed Sarah Dodds of Medical Defence Shield as its solicitor in the case, and asked barristers Nadia Motraghi and Alex Shellum of Old Square Chambers to “draw up grounds in support” of Dr Viz and Dr Joshi.

“These grounds, along with a witness statement from Dr Mehta OBE have now been filed at the High Court,” said the BAPIO statement.

Upon reviewing the case, the court will decide whether to grant permission for the judicial review to proceed. If granted permission, the case will get a full hearing to determine whether the health authorities had acted unlawfully.