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R. Pal v General Medical Council, Sarah Bedwell,
Catherine Green and Peter Lynn Settles out of Court Now that the case has been brought to conlusion, I wish to thank my father, a retired Consultant Surgeon, who taught me everything I know about determination, sticking to your guns and never giving up. He loved his work as a surgeon, and I have carried on all his beliefs as a doctor and a person, and have sought to continue his work and the values he lives by. This website is about carrying on his work into the future - that everyone should fight through poverty, through the tears and through any hardships placed in their way. My father's favourite saying is, "where there is a will, there is a way, all you have to do is have the faith." He also coined the phrase "self help is the best help". R Pal v General Medical Council, Sarah Bedwell, Catherine Green, Peter Lynn was fought and settled for my father. I carry his surname and I believe that my father worked far too hard, climbing from the depths of poverty in a small village in Raipura through the Nilatan Sarkar Medical School to the UK, to have his surname tarnished by a "totalitarian" regime. It is for this reason only that I have fought the battle to a satisfactory conclusion I also wish to thank my mother for feeding me up when I had no money to afford food, my sisters CR Pal and BR Pal who held my hand when I fell, DB who had the will and determination to defeat the best lawyers last year in the hearing, who has always remained at my side since my whistleblowing episode, who has always been everything and my best friend, Arpad Toth - whose footsteps we all follow, Sahota Solicitors - for the vision to bring the case to its conclusion, Robert Jay QC - for his cool and entertaining representation last year. I also wish to thank Professor Steve Bolsin for everything - he has always been at the other end of an email and stuck his neck out to write the expert report into my whistleblowing episode. He made the glaciers easier for me and I will always be indebted to him. I wish to thank Peter Wilmshurst for his support. I also wish to thank all the people through NHS Exposed who have rooted for me for two years and kept my spirits up through their emails etc. Finally, my neice - known to all of us as the Hobbit (teenager) for saying, "The GMC are rather silly Rita Mashi, even children in my playground behave better, lets go off to watch the Princess Diaries - much better idea than you spending hours on these weirdos". When the Hobbit was told "The GMC won't like your remarks". She was heard to say "Ha, well I am not registered with the GMC - thankgod - so what can they do to me". When the Hobbit was told that the GMC had settled, she said, munching on her pizza, "Ummmmm, a bit late for the weirdos, do you want a Hawaiian Rita Mashi - lets watch the Killers on MTV." So there we have it, the consent order was dumped before it was read and we sat there watching MTV and the Killers. Indeed a very very wise lady - I owe the Hobbit everything for keeping me cheerful, for chinese food and DVDs, for teaching me that watching MTV is not wrong in the middle of court hearings, for her wit, her logic and her ability to be a grown up teenager who seems to have so much more sense than the GMC and most of all for keeping me on an even keel during the court hearings. I wish to thank Mr Tom Wells journalist to the Sunday Mercury - for being the only person in the media to have sat down and read my story. From our days when we collaborated in a salacious story regarding the philandering ways of Paul Marsden MP, to Adoko v Pal (a libel case won by me) to the adventures of today - the weird and wonderful ways of R Pal v General Medical Council. He was also there when most doors shut in my face. As a journalist he has respect for his sources and has never been judgmental of me. I am extremely grateful to the editor of the Sunday Mercury for providing a voice to so many relatives and patients who suffer needlessly in the NHS. In my view, the newspaper treats its sources far better than any other newspaper I have ever come into contact with. My thanks also go to Mr Mark Ellen of the General Medical Council for his ability to do his job well, for supplying me with all the research I required during the last two years. I would also like to thank Mr Blake Dobson of the GMC for having the decency to apologise for the distress caused to me in an email last year. There are indeed a few people in the GMC to strive to do their job well and assist doctors who are in trouble. Finally, I would like to thank Harris HHJ for a great day in court and one I shall never forget. Famous comments from the case Robert Jay QC: "Its a bold move Rita" (2004 before the hearing and while being pushed into court with wig in tow). Robert Jay QC: "Well, it looks like being bold worked" (after the same hearing) DB and me after the hearing "We won, we won, we won, we won" (while shaking some ass) Dr Judith Hasler Consultant Psychiatrist Nuneaton: "The GMC is allowed to do whatever they want and no one will ever succeed in bringing a case against them" Dr Linda Hall Consultant Psychiatrist: "The GMC have some extremely good people representing them, why don't we explain things to them and they will understand because you are likely to loose everything" (before sending in the claim form) Dr Chatree Consultant Psychiatrist Blackburn when told of the GMC case: "silence" Royal College of Psychiatrists, famed for their campaign to destigmatise mental illness: "We're not listening, we're not listening ..." Dr Rita Pal during the case: "Now where was my Hello magazine and chocolate supply, this case is now boring me to death. The least the GMC could have done was to hire a dishy barrister like Colin Firth so at least the talent would be worth going to court for. So they decided to hire none other than Windy." Dr CR Pal: "Hurricane Rita rages while thousands flee." Misc Journalists: "We cannot mention this case in the media in case it opens the floodgates." Mr P C Pal: "You inherited the determination gene from me" (at La Reseve July 2005) McKenna HHJ: "You should seek legal representation and if they say give up the case, you should do so". Dr Rita Pal comments to DB at second hearing: "Mckenna HHJ seems to have run away given we arrived in court with a QC in tow. Don't you think Mckenna HHJ would have time to get out of his coffin, wave his cloak and let out his fangs for the second time?" Dr Mike Shooter, a depression sufferer and previous President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, refused to reply to 23 letters and emails. Their stance was to support the General Medical Council due to brotherly allegiance to the potentially negligent GMC screener in this case - Dr Sheila Mann. Professor Cornelius Katona had the same opinion and refused to reply to any emails. Their colleague Professor Crisp head of the Anti Stigma Campaign when asked about Stigma (but was unaware of the case) wrote the following damning letter - click here. It should be noted that Dr Mike Shooter was not the subject of a "discreet inquiry" by the GMC. Only doctors with no mental illness seem to be subjected to this honour. This is deemed acceptable by the Royal College of Psychiatrists due to their inaction to date. Despite requests to alter the advice given to the General Medical Council, the Royal College have ignored the case. So much for their anti stigma campaign. Baroness Knight, in a letter to me dated 1st July 2004, said: "Of course it is wrong that those who make public certain unsavoury facts should face attempts to smear their reputation for sanity." Click here to read her letter in full. Closing Credits The GMC Team - Field Fisher Waterhouse - Mr Michael "some mothers do ave em" Crawford, Mr Rhys "Baby" Griffiths (last seen biting his nails at mediation), Mr Tom Ryder, Mr Stephen Gibbs. Barrister and Wigs by Blackstone "We believe in human rights" Chambers represented by Ms Jane "Windy" Collier. Dr Rita Pal's Team - DB, Dr CR Pal, Sahota Solicitors, Robert Jay QC, Richard Price Solicitors (fired mid December 2004). R Pal v GMC, Sarah Bedwell, Peter Lynn, Catherine Green was the first direct action against the General Medical Council in tort law.
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