Malpractice (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Right, the facts are, Lucinda,
you had to deal
with a gunshot victim,
so you left Edith Owusu
in Ramya's capable hands
with a clear management plan,
which you, Ramya, followed.
You chose to leave Edith
with a doctor
whose incompetence has been shown
and that choice killed her!
Edith Owusu died
following the self-administration
of a large quantity of fentanyl.
I assume we're done.
You know that's not how this works.
When it's an accident, you look at
what caused the accident.
The drugs.
Camilla, hi. I'm the new doctor
that took over from Rob.
How do you pay Rob?
I pay the pharmacy,
like I usually do.
This is Jubair Singh.
Nice to meet you.
He's the owner of
the Wellspring Pharmacy chain.
Instead of complaining,
you should focus on your work,
and you wouldn't make
so many mistakes.
I may have mentioned
a dispensing error that you made.
What?
Take a look at that.
Lucinda told me
to get 40 milligrams.
I even questioned the dose
at the time.
Abi? What you doing? Abi?
Go on, move!
Please help! I think she got hold
of some diazepam.
Luc, it's Tom.
You have to come to the hospital.
We're in A&E.
It's Abi. She's really sick.
Right, I'll just be down
the end of the corridor,
so if you need anything
just give me a shout, OK?
Thanks.
Wait, wait, wait. Tom.
I'll be back in a bit.
Just wait one second.
I was just coming to see you.
How's she doing?
Yeah, she's doing really well.
They're just waiting
for her bloods to come back.
And once they're clear,
we can take her home.
Yeah, well, before you do that,
we need to discuss
this social services referral.
What? Can I see it?
Beth, let me see it.
Beth, you can't send this.
You said it was an accident.
Well, it was an accident, but social
services won't see it that way.
They'll just take Abi and
What if the MIU find out about
God, Jesus, please.
Look, look, look, look.
I asked Lucinda to throw out
my tablets out ages ago.
Please don't punish Abi
for my mistake.
Please, Beth.
OK.
Sometimes, referrals get lost,
so I'll sort it out.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I need to get some air.
You need to sort yourself out.
What are you talking about?
No, if I catch you stealing
any more meds from my store in A&E,
I'll report you to the MIU myself.
Do you understand me, Lucinda?
Do you understand me?
I'm sorry, I have to
I have to check on my kid.
Where were you yesterday?
I told you, I went for a walk.
Why was your phone switched off?
Jesus, Tom,
if I knew what was going on,
I wouldn't have turned it off.
That doesn't explain why
it was switched off.
Are you still using diazepam?
No.
Where did Abi get
those tablets from, then?
We were playing upstairs earlier.
She must've found
an old strip of mine, I don't know.
Look, I really wanna help, Luc,
but you're gonna have to start
telling me the truth.
Tom, I stopped taking diazepam
when I went back to work.
OK? I told you that.
I told you, you shouldn't have gone
back to work.
I said you weren't ready, didn't I?
What were we meant to do, Tom?
Because you barely have a job,
and I have to pay for things
around here, don't I?
You need help.
Come here, I'm sorry.
OK? I didn't mean that.
What are you doing?
We're leaving.
What? Why?
Why? Because you lied
about the drugs.
I didn't, Tom. I didn't.
Oh, just stop it. Stop it, Lucinda.
Right, you put
our daughter's life in danger.
You've been acting off for weeks.
I don't know,
maybe it's the investigation,
maybe it's the drugs,
maybe it's just you.
I don't know, but whatever it is,
you need to sort it out.
Tom, please listen to me.
I do not take drugs.
OK? I swear on Abi's life.
On Abi's life?
You swear on Abi's life? Seriously?
That is low,
especially after yesterday.
I'm taking Abi to my parents' house
until you sort out your priorities.
Right, the first item on the agenda
of this month's meeting
is the inquest into
Edith Owusu's death
and the prevention of future deaths
report, summarised in appendix A.
As you can imagine,
the report risks serious damage
to the Trust's reputation.
It says here that if we don't
provide a satisfactory response
to the coroner's report,
the Trust is at risk
of losing its trainees.
Is that correct?
Yes. And we can't afford that.
The hospital's finances
are precarious,
and we receive
a substantial amount of funding
from the deanery to train doctors.
As I'm in charge
of medical education,
I will liaise with Leo Harris
about that.
Great. This is a priority,
keep us updated on the progress.
Erm, right, the next issue I'd like
to raise is Dr Lucinda Edwards.
It's come to my attention
that her three-year-old daughter
was admitted into A&E yesterday
having taken diazepam.
If social services get involved
further down the line
and it comes to light that she's
also being investigated by the MIU,
it will not look good for the Trust.
So, what are you suggesting we do?
Well, we can get ahead
of any negative press
if we terminate her contract now.
If she remains in post
and the MIU strike her off,
it's not gonna look good.
Lucinda is still technically
a trainee
and as a teaching hospital,
we're responsible for her welfare.
We can't just cut people loose
when it suits us.
I have to agree with Corinne.
I think the Trust would look
incredibly unsupportive
if it sacked Dr Edwards
before any investigations
were completed, Mike.
Lucinda is not a trainee
in difficulty, she's a liability.
Let's take a vote.
All those in favour of Dr Edwards
remaining in post, raise your hand.
Right, come on. Come on now.
OK.
Gonna have a nice time
at Granny and Grandy's house, yeah?
Yeah.
Mummy's gonna give you a call later.
I could
Tom, I could drop over some dinner
for her, some fish and chips.
Would you like
some fish and chips, sweetie?
Yeah.
And some ice cream?
Yeah.
Ice cream and jelly?
Oh, that'd be lovely, wouldn't it?
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
Bye.
OK, see you later. Bye-bye.
Bye, sweetie. Bye-bye.
Oh, Tom. Tom.
Hello?
You all right there?
Hi.
Hi.
I'm Dr Edwards.
I'm here to amend a prescription.
Oh, right, it's just down there
and then up the stairs.
All right?
Thanks.
Come in.
Ah. Jubair Singh.
Yeah, I know who you are,
we met before.
Yeah, we met
at the Patient Care Awards. Yeah.
Please, take a seat, Lucinda.
I understand you came into
one of my pharmacies yesterday
and accused my dispenser
of taking an extra payment
for a prescription you wrote.
What was that about?
Is Camilla Woodham
a patient of yours?
No. You know she isn't.
Why did you write her out
a prescription, then?
Are you being serious right now?
She is an addict
that you're illegally selling
prescriptions drugs to.
OK? And I know
she's not the only one.
I'd be careful
what you accuse me of, Lucinda.
I'm gonna to report you to the MIU.
If you were gonna do that,
you'd have done it already,
but you haven't, have you?
I've been to a meeting of the
Hospital Trust Board this morning
where your future was discussed.
Your daughter's overdose
is gonna look a whole lot worse
if they find out you've been hiding
a diazepam addiction, isn't it?
You keep quiet,
and I can keep quiet.
We don't need to cause
each other any trouble.
Do we?
No.
OK.
Thanks for coming in.
Oh, and if you haven't already,
make sure you throw
Rob's phone away.
Just incriminates you more than me.
Hello, hello.
Ooh. Thanks.
Here you are.
Lovely.
That's not oat milk, is it?
No, it's normal milk.
Sorry, we ran out.
I can go get some.
No, it's all right.
We better crack on.
You sure?
So
We've got Lucinda potentially
prescribing Edith Owusu fentanyl
then trying to make it look like
a suicide attempt
to direct attention away
from the drugs.
That's enough
to get Lucinda struck off.
Well, it's worse than that.
I mean, if she prescribed the drugs
that killed Edith,
her parents could easily bring
a criminal case against her.
I just don't understand why
we didn't find any drugs
in the flat
but Edith kept this prescription,
for some reason.
What are you getting at?
I don't know. It's just convenient.
People like Lucinda,
they think they're invincible,
but sooner or later, they slip up.
And that's what this is.
Right.
What you doing today?
I am going to the RH to get samples
of Lucinda's past prescriptions
for handwriting analysis.
Excellent. Do you want me
to talk to Ramya while I'm there?
Oh, yeah. Find out if she's been
keeping an eye on our girl.
Yeah.
Great.
How was your night?
Yeah, fine, thanks.
How's Abi doing?
Good.
Oh, Lucinda. Back so soon.
Yeah.
How's Abi?
She is great. Thank you.
She's with her daddy, so
Good.
Can I ask you,
how's everything in ITU?
Not too bad.
Same ITU, different day.
Oh, your friend Rob, yes,
he's showing signs of improvement.
Great.
He's having a repeat CT scan now.
Is he talking yet?
Hmm.
He's alert, not talking,
but it's definite progress.
Great.
Actually, do you have five minutes?
Erm
Five minutes.
I'll be quick. There's someone
I'd really like you to see.
Come.
Mm-hm.
It's me again.
This is Dr Edwards.
Lucinda Edwards?
Yeah.
Look, I will leave you two, OK?
She's one of our best, so play fair.
Thank you.
It's OK if I sit down?
Sure.
So, you're the one
who saved my life?
No, no, it was
It was my team, did.
I heard it was mainly you.
The amount of trouble you caused.
Did I?
Well, you look a lot better
than the last time I saw you.
Yeah, I feel better.
Yeah.
You looking forward to going home?
I feel safer here, to be honest.
Can you do me a favour?
Can you give me your phone?
Can you promise me that you won't
end up in A&E any time soon?
And contact me if you need me.
Here, that's my number.
You chirpsing me?
You just stay out of trouble,
Yussef. Please.
I don't mind. Don't go.
Where you going?
I'm going to work.
Yup.
Hi.
Sorry, just one sec.
Yup?
I sent off the handwriting samples.
Great.
Something else?
Tom, it's me again.
Stop ignore my phone calls,
and I need to see Abi.
So just call me back, please.
Ready?
Yup.
Three days ago, Sir Anthony Owusu
gave us permission
to visit Edith Owusu's flat.
While we were there, we found this.
What is that?
We were hoping you could tell us.
It's a prescription for fentanyl.
Written by you.
Were you prescribing Edith Owusu
fentanyl?
No.
At the inquest, it was assumed
Edith was getting her fentanyl
on the streets.
This would suggest otherwise.
No, I didn't I didn't write this.
We're having the handwriting
independently verified.
Someone must've planted that there
to frame me.
And who would that be?
Is it the same person who called you
before Edith came into A&E?
Yes.
It was another doctor,
a GP called Rob Thornbury.
Rob Thornbury.
OK. Who's Rob Thornbury?
Rob was my supervisor
at medical school.
We became good friends.
He told me Edith was an addiction
patient that he was looking after.
One day, he called me,
and he told me
that Edith had
accidentally overdosed
on a drug that he had prescribed.
He knew I was working in A&E,
so he asked me to look after her
and to code the overdose
as deliberate
so that nobody would look
at his prescribing.
Why didn't you tell us this before?
Because he told me not to.
He thought your investigation
was gonna blow over
and that
nobody needed to know the rest.
But you falsified Edith's notes.
Coding an accidental overdose
as deliberate
didn't seem that big of a deal.
I didn't believe that
Rob deserved to be investigated
because of one prescribing error.
I thought he was a good doctor.
OK, but it wasn't
just one prescribing error, was it?
Cos he's called you before.
Do the names Alexander Taylor
and Camilla Woodham
mean anything to you?
No.
No?
Kathy, can you please show her
the A&E case notes?
Yep. Here you are.
Do you recognise these notes?
Like, yeah, I wrote them.
But I see hundreds of patients.
I don't remember every single one
of their names.
Both of these patients presented
with "deliberate" opioid overdoses
shortly after you received a call
from this Rob Thornbury.
So, were they actually deliberate
or were they accidents,
like Edith's?
They were accidents.
Rob called me, that's how I knew
they were coming in.
Did it not seem unusual to you
that so many
of Dr Thornbury's patients
were accidentally overdosing
on drugs that he was prescribing?
Honestly, no. Prescribing
for addicts is hard to do safely.
And I didn't think it was fair
that Rob's prescribing
could be criticised
because they could've overdosed
for any number of reasons.
I only realised at Edith's inquest
that Rob wasn't her GP
and that he had prescribed her
fentanyl instead of methadone.
OK, well, where can we find
this Dr Rob Thornbury?
In ITU at the RH.
He works in IT.
You just said he was a GP.
He is. He's
He was in an accident
a few weeks ago.
How convenient that the one person
who can corroborate your story
just happens to be
in a critical condition.
Believe me, I am telling the truth.
None of this is my fault.
This is starting to sound like
a pack of lies, Lucinda.
No, wait. You need to speak
to Rob's wife, Eva Thornbury.
OK? She's a part of this.
And she was Edith's doctor
at the Guelder Clinic.
Dr Eva Do you mean Dr Eva Tait?
Yes! Yeah, she must practise
under her maiden name, Tait.
She knew exactly what Rob was doing.
She was referring her patients
from the Guelder Clinic to Rob.
Did Eva Tait ask you to prescribe
opioids for Edith Owusu?
I barely know Eva.
I met her after Edith had died.
Lucinda, have you ever illegally
prescribed opioid medication
for Alexander Taylor?
No.
Have you ever illegally prescribed
opioid medication
for Camilla Woodham?
No.
Have you ever met Alexander Taylor,
Camilla Woodham or Edith Owusu
anywhere other than
the RH's A&E department?
No.
This is serious, Lucinda.
We're not just talking about
the end of your career here.
If you prescribed Edith
the drugs that killed her,
you could end up facing
criminal charges of manslaughter.
I didn't.
I was trying to save her life!
No, you've got this all wrong.
It was Eva and Rob, not me.
We've also received information
from a reliable source
suggesting that
you've been abusing diazepam
and stealing it from A&E.
What? Who told you that?
Our source wishes
to remain anonymous.
However, we would like you
to undergo formal drug testing
at an independent centre.
No. No, you say you have
a reliable source - who is it?
Cos I am a victim in all this.
And it doesn't matter what I do,
you keep coming after me,
and I am sick of it.
You are far from the victim.
We believe
you prescribed drugs illegally
for someone who was not
your patient.
Those drugs killed her.
You've admitted
to falsifying medical records
to cover this criminal behaviour.
Concerns have been raised
about you stealing diazepam from A&E
to feed your alleged addiction,
and we know diazepam found its way
into the hands of your
three-year-old daughter at home,
which nearly killed her.
Lucinda.
Where did you get that diazepam?
My husband told A&E
that they were from a prescription
from an old shoulder injury.
Why can't you believe that?
Will you agree
to undergo drug testing?
I strongly recommend
you comply, Lucinda.
Fine.
I have to get back to work.
Are we done?
No, we're not.
Let's just take a seat.
Oh, for God's sake, what now?
The story you've told today
doesn't make sense.
You've blamed everything
on Rob Thornbury and Eva Tait,
but, Lucinda, you are to blame
for the situation
you find yourself in.
I am no longer confident
that you're fit
to practise medicine safely.
Therefore, we are suspending you
with immediate effect
while we continue our investigation.
No. No, no, no. You can't do that.
You can't suspend me.
Yes, we can.
We'll notify HR,
and your training programme director
of your suspension.
You must not enter any clinical area
of the hospital,
and you should return your ID
and access cards immediately.
No, no, George, come on,
talk to her, please.
I did not do this.
This is not something I would do.
You know me.
George, you know me.
I would not do this. Tell her.
Unless you have anything useful
to add,
we can end this interview now.
George?
Let's go.
No. George.
George, look at me, come on.
You'll receive a letter
with the date
of your tribunal hearing
in due course.
Thank you for coming in. Goodbye.
Thank you. Lucinda.
Thank you.
This is much more serious now.
We should think about your defence
for the tribunal,
find supporting witnesses
and gather evidence
of your good practice.
Do you understand?
Lucinda?
Do you believe her?
No.
I don't know.
Er story's all over the place,
and she's the only doctor
we absolutely know
treated all of these patients.
She's involved, whatever this is.
Yes, but I think it could be
more complicated than that.
If there is a personal connection
between Lucinda
and this Rob Thornbury,
we can't ignore it.
Come on. Rob's such a good friend,
Lucinda's willing to risk
her entire career for him?
I know not all of it makes sense,
but there was something off
about the Guelder Clinic.
We should speak to Eva Tait.
At least.
And we will.
OK.
But, if Lucinda's an addict,
and it's looking likely,
what she says won't be reliable.
You're the one who brought this
to me, George, remember?
Yeah.
Kathy, can you check
with the RH's chief pharmacist
whether they're missing
any prescriptions?
Sure. Did you want me to set up
the meeting with Dr Tait as well?
Yeah. But be sensitive.
Find out what
Dr Thornbury's condition is first,
and let's offer to meet her at home
rather than in here.
OK.
Thanks, Kathy.
I'll be back in a second.
You weren't returning
any of my calls, so
Can I come in?
I'm really struggling, Tom.
Yeah, I don't think
I should be on my own right now.
I've got to prioritise Abi.
Can you show me
all of the toys that Nan got ya?
Can we play with some of the toys?
Let's see. What do we have here?
What's his name?
Lamb.
He's a lovely lamb, isn't he?
Did Daddy get you that?
Yeah.
You know they suspended me.
Didn't they?
But Daddy doesn't look
very surprised.
I spoke to Beth Relph earlier.
She told me.
You spoke to Beth?
We discussed Abi
and the social services referral.
And, erm
I told her to go ahead with it.
What the fuck, Tom?
I can't cover for you any more.
It's the right thing to do.
You need help.
How is reporting me
to social services gonna help me?
Not in front of Abi.
You're scaring me!
Yeah, well, you're scaring her.
You're meant to be on my side.
OK. So, what happens now?
Well, they want to do
a social services assessment
with Abi and us here next week.
And then if they're happy with
the current arrangement, then
I don't know, I guess we'll see
what happens from there.
Look, I've gotta get Abi's tea.
I can stay and help.
No.
Not when you're like this,
not when you're upset.
Give Mummy a kiss goodbye.
I love you, Mummy.
You be good for Daddy.
I miss you, Mummy.
I love you so much.
You've done some
really good work here, Oscar.
It's very thorough.
Thank you.
I know that junior doctors grumble
about having to do audits.
God knows I did enough myself,
but it's important work
nevertheless, so well done.
Yeah, well, you know, I was shocked
at just the amount of stuff
that the hospital was throwing away.
That's not really my area.
Dr Willett oversees
all the hospital's drug purchases,
but I do know that most
of our waste drugs go to a charity.
And what is it that they do?
Oh, they test the drugs, and then
those ones that are still viable
get sent oversees
to developing nations,
so it's not technically waste,
as such.
I didn't realise.
So, that kinda makes my audit
a little bit
Oh, no, not at all, no. No.
Look, I'll talk to Mike about it.
I'm sure there's some use we have
for this data.
Might even get a publication
out of it.
That would be amazing.
Thank you, Dr Harris.
Terrific. Well done. Thank you.
Thank you.
Wait, this definitely isn't being
paid for by an NHS salary, right?
No.
Hi. I'm Dr Norma Callahan.
This is my colleague,
Dr George Adjei.
Hi.
Oh, sorry,
from the Medical Investigation Unit.
You spoke with our colleague Kathy
yesterday.
Oh, God, yes.
Of course. I'm so sorry. I forgot.
We can come back another time
if you'd prefer.
No, you're here, it's fine.
Please, come in.
During our investigation
into Dr Edwards
some alarming claims
have been made
regarding
your husband's medical practice.
We wondered
if you could shed any light
on the nature of their relationship.
The nature of their relationship?
Well, she was his student
when he taught,
before he become a GP.
What's she been saying about him?
Well, at this stage
we can't go into any detail, but
are you aware of your husband
ever prescribing
for any of your patients?
No. Why would he do that?
Do you know how he could've accessed
details of patients
from the Guelder Clinic
who were struggling
to remain abstinent?
Is that what she says
he's been doing?
Did she also tell you
she used to date my husband?
No.
No, we weren't aware of that.
Sorry, how long ago was this?
It was years ago,
right before Rob met me.
Lucinda was devastated
when he broke up with her.
And soon after,
we met and got married,
but she never got over it.
And she has been obsessed
with him ever since.
Honestly, I wouldn't trust
a word she says.
Right. So, this relationship.
Mmm?
How long was it?
I don't know.
If you could just give us
the exact dates,
that'd be really helpful.
Anything.
God, I don't know.
A few months maybe? A few months.
OK.
I'm sorry, I can't believe
you're making me go over this.
Rob is lying
in intensive care right now.
Is this how you conduct
all your investigations?
No, I'm just asking questions.
Well
Look, sorry, this is obviously
a very, very difficult time for you.
Thank you.
So let's leave it at that for today.
Thank you.
Let me give you my card.
If you think of anything useful
at all,
just please,
don't hesitate to contact us.
Yes. OK, I will.
Thanks for your time.
I'll show you out.
Shh, shh, shh.
I'm not gonna hurt you.
I need you to stay alive, OK?
Cos I need you to tell the MIU
that you planted that prescription
with my name on it in Edith's flat.
I know you've been working
for Jubair,
prescribing for drug addicts.
I need you to help me out here.
Please, just help me.
Here, here. Look, listen.
Jub Jubair.
Jubair. I can't.
Rob, I'm gonna lose my job, OK?
My family has left me.
You have completely fucked me over.
You have to tell the MIU
what really happened. Please.
ID and swipe card?
Thanks. Bleep?
Shit. No, I left it
in the doctors' office.
I'll just go and get it.
You'll need this visitors' pass.
Just give it to me
when you come back.
Hey, how's it going?
Hiya.
If you just input it,
then if you do add them,
then it'll come up.
All right. Morning, you two.
So, we got a new locum registrar
joining the team today,
Dr Sandeep Khan.
He's very experienced,
but I'd like you to keep an eye
on him, make him feel at home, OK?
What about Lucinda?
She's been suspended.
Do you know why?
All I know is that
there's been a development
in the MIU investigation.
Yes, and we shouldn't discuss this
with anyone outside
Don't mind me.
Came to pick up some things.
My bleep.
Lucinda, we've just heard.
I'm so sorry.
Was it you?
Was what me?
Shopping me to social services
wasn't enough, so.
That was Tom's decision, not mine.
Like fuck it was.
He called me.
He's worried about you.
As we all are, Lucinda.
Oh, fuck, it was you.
No, no, no.
It was you.
I don't know what you mean.
You told them that bullshit lie
about me stealing diazepam.
No, no. I didn't.
Just calm down, Lucinda.
This is really unprofessional.
Really unprofessional, I'm so sorry.
I will not calm down.
What the fuck
is your problem, Ramya?
You are my problem!
You're always blaming me,
but if you've been suspended,
it's for something that you've done,
not something that I've said.
So you did say something.
I haven't done anything wrong.
What's your problem with me?
Why do you hate me so much?
It was me.
Yeah, I told the MIU about
the diazepam, it wasn't Ramya.
What?
Yeah, I've been
auditing waste drugs on A&E,
and
I noticed a discrepancy
with the diazepam
that you prescribed,
and then your daughter
came in, and
Sorry, I couldn't stand by
and say nothing.
Honestly, I thought that
they were gonna offer you help.
I didn't think
they would suspend you.
Wow.
Well, one of us should go after her.
Let her cool down, and I'll catch up
with her in a minute.
Well, I'm glad she's been suspended.
I'm tired of being blamed
for everything all the time.
Don't worry, Oscar.
You did the right thing.
You think so?
Yeah.
She'll realise that
once she's calmed down.
What the hell
do you think you're doing?
I wanna work for you,
in Rob's place.
Why do you think
I would let you do that?
Rob had a lot of clients,
and I'm assuming that
you don't wanna lose their trade.
You may think
you know all my secrets,
but I also know all yours.
So if you wanna keep me quiet,
I want something in return.
Go on.
Diazepam.
As much and often as I want.
OK.
Let's put you on a month's trial.
But if I get any trouble from you
You won't.
OK.
So, tell me how it works.
We'll get you a phone.
OK. So, patients contact me
that way?
Yep. Then you write them out
a prescription.
Then they'll take it
to one of my pharmacies to fill in.
OK. And how do I get paid?
Cash. End of the month.
We'll give you a reduced rate
till you prove yourself.