Leeds doctor caught in drug sting can return to medical work

Consultant paediatric neurologist Colin Ferrie resigned from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust after being exposed in a national newspaper sting.

And, last October, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) imposed a four-month suspension on him.

But now, following a review hearing, the MPTS has decided that Dr Ferrie’s fitness to practise is no longer “impaired”.

Any return to medical work will, however, be subject to a number of conditions for a period of 12 months.

They include a requirement to notify the General Medical Council with details of any post he accepts.

In a determination addressed to Dr Ferrie, MPTS tribunal chair Dr Liz Ball said: “In all of the circumstances, the tribunal determined that your fitness to practise is no longer impaired by reason of misconduct.”

Dr Ball also told Dr Ferrie he had stated the underlying reasons for his misconduct “related to your difficulties in accepting your sexuality but that you had now addressed the issue”.

Dr Ferrie was one of the country’s leading experts on childhood epilepsy and had practised in Leeds for 20 years before his suspension.