Child psychiatrist suspended

As seen here

A child psychiatrist from Rye has been banned from practice by the General Medical Council, pending the outcome of a GMC investigation into matters relating to him.

The decision means that Hartmut Steffen, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, will remain suspended until 23 April, 2008.

No details of the circumstances leading to imposition of the ban are given in the decision, which has just been published.

However, a spokesman for the GMC said cases such as this are referred to the Interim Orders Panel when a doctor is facing allegations of such a nature that it may be necessary for the protection of members of the public, or otherwise be in the public interest or in the interests of the doctor, for the doctor's registration to be restricted whilst the allegations are resolved.

The spokesman said that considerations taken into account included preserving public trust in the medical profession and maintaining good standards

Without evidence, we can only speculate as to the actual reasons behind the suspension. Typical reasons in recent years involve drugs, sex, or both, with tax fraud bringing up tyhe rear.