NHS Settles Case With Christian Doctor Who Was Investigated for Offering Prayers to Patients

Dr. Richard Scott in an undated file photo. (Courtesy of Christian Concern)

The tribunal for a Christian doctor who received complaints about offering prayer to his patients has been called off after a last-minute settlement with NHS England.

On Monday, Dr. Richard Scott, 62, from Margate, England, had been set to contest a number of complaints relating to him offering spiritual care to some patients as well disciplinary measures and mandatory conditions imposed against him by NHS England at Ashford Tribunal Hearing Centre, Kent.

However, just before proceedings commenced, NHS England, agreed to settle the case.

Marginalisation of Christians

“Undoubtedly there’s marginalisation of Christians happening more and more in this country,” Scott told The Epoch Times.

A series of investigations throughout 2019, 2020, and 2021 had seen him threatened with removal from the NHS Practitioners List if he refused to go on a three-day £1,800 professional boundaries course at his own expense.

Scott, who has worked as a doctor for 35 years, said he was shocked to find that the course that he was mandated to attend, was usually reserved for doctors who have inappropriately touched a patient or crossed sexual boundaries.

His case had been built upon complaints filed by the National Secular Society, an organisation working exclusively toward a secular society, based on a Radio 4 interview he gave in January 2019 where he said he had led a patient in the clinic to convert to Christianity.

NHS England reached an agreement with Scott for his appeal to be withdrawn without an admission of liability. Instead, Scott will now attend a one-day course related to professional boundaries. The doctor may continue to introduce spiritual care into his consultations, as long as this is in accordance with General Medical Council (GMC) guidance.

“When I first became a GP [general practitioner] in 1998, I rapidly saw that a lot of drug addicts were coming my way. I could see the standard medical approach such as taking diazepam and methadone wasn’t changing their lives. And they were just going back to prison,” said Scott.

He said, in addition to standard Western medicine, he began to suggest to patients that they attend Christian courses.

He added that when it came to depression and anxiety, as well as counseling and anti-depressants, as part of a holistic approach he would offer “a third extra option” by asking patients if they would like to know about how spiritual care changed his life.

Scott added that he has asked patients if he could pray for them.

“The reason why I fought this case was not because of my own situation, but because I was aware that more and more Christians in this country are being marginalised for their faith,” he said, citing the case of the Christian chaplain, Rev. Bernard Randall, who was forced out of his job at a Christan school and reported to a terrorist watchdog for giving a sermon defending the right to question LGBT ideology.

In a statement, chief executive of the National Secular Society, Stephen Evans, said that “NHS patients quite rightly expect to receive healthcare without having someone else’s religious beliefs imposed on them. Evangelism that targets people who are ill or vulnerable is exploitative and patients should be protected from it.”

Spiritual Care

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, who backed Scott’s case, said that she was “delighted that Richard Scott has again been vindicated and that justice has prevailed.”

“Secular activists, whether campaign groups or those working within the NHS have been relentless in their pursuit of Dr. Scott. It is now time for this to end,” she added.

“At a time when there is widespread recognition that emotional and spiritual support play a significant role in physical healing, it has been particularly distasteful to see NHS England picking on a Christian doctor who is appropriately offering that support,” said Williams.

A spokesperson for NHS England in the South East told The Epoch Times by email that: “Any spiritual care in Dr. Scott’s consultations must be in accordance with the clear GMC guidance and Dr. Scott has agreed to attend a one-day Professional Boundaries course within three months.”

PA media contributed to this report.