Speaker Jade Bucklow, New Park Court
Chair Aoife Kennedy, Capsticks LLP
A closer look Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care v General Medical Council and Onyekpe [2023] EWHC 2391 (Admin) – A failure to adequately consider evidence of patient vulnerability.
Jade Bucklow specialises in healthcare regulation and professional discipline. Jade was a Case Examiner at the General Medical Council for 8 years and now regularly represents and advises the GMC in fitness to practise proceedings against doctors. Jade has extensive experience representing Social Work England in fitness to practice proceedings against Social Workers and has recently been appointed as a tribunal member (Barrister) for the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service.
Jade also regularly advises and represents the Care Quality Commission at the First Tier Tribunal, in appeals against decisions to cancel or restrict the registration of CQC registered healthcare and social care providers. Jade has expertise in dealing with all types of fitness to practise concerns, including dishonesty, serious breaches of professional boundaries, health concerns and deficient professional performance.
Aoife Kennedy is an Associate Barrister at Capsticks LLP. Aoife is a specialist in professional regulation and an experienced advocate, having completed pupillage at the Nursing and Midwifery Council and worked as a lawyer in the NMC’s case preparation and presentation team for a number of years. She has significant experience preparing and presenting the full range of fitness to practise hearings, including high profile cases, complex clinical matters, and cases involving sexual misconduct and dishonesty. Aoife has dealt with investigations and fitness to practise hearings involving expert witnesses and both vulnerable witnesses and vulnerable registrants. She has advised on and successfully defended a number of fitness to practise appeals and regularly appears in the High Court for interim order extension applications. Aoife has also undertaken a range of pro-bono work, including as a Legal Adviser with Asylum Access (Mexico) representing clients seeking asylum; representing claimants in Employment Tribunals; and delivering workshops on the law surrounding consent with the Schools Consent Project. As well as being a member of ARDL, Aoife is an elected member of the Bar Council, a member of the Bar Council Young Barristers’ Committee and a Bar Council Representative for the European Young Bar Association.