A GP has been found guilty of serious professional misconduct after testing five patients for the HIV virus "without justification".

John Alaistair Nicholls, 48, had already admitted failing to obtain his patients' consent to taking blood samples for the tests and not consulting them about its possible consequences.

The General Medical Council's professional conduct committee issued Dr Nicholls, of Hollytrees, Bramham Road, Clifford, Wetherby, with a severe reprimand in a test case over the council's 1991 guidelines on a GP's responsibility to suspected HIV victims.

In a landmark ruling, committee chairman and council president Sir Donald Irvine told Dr Nicholls they noted he believed he was acting in the patients' best interests, "but such a benevolent, paternalistic attitude has no place in modern medicine."

Sir Donald - ironically the author of ethical guidelines issued to all GPs when he was chairman of the council's standards committee in 1991 - added: "Patients have certain fundamental rights, including the right to be fully involved in decisions relating to their treatment.

"This includes decisions specifically relating to the testing of samples for HIV infection."

Dr Nicholls appeared to have disregarded that part of the guidance which made it clear that in normal circumstances doctors should test, investigate and treat such patients "only on the basis of their informed consent."

Instead, he had relied on that part of the guidance which allowed doctors to make their own judgements on the appropriate course of action to be followed in specific circumstances.

Doctors must be able to justify any decision they make and the committee had found that Dr Nicholls had been unable to do so.

The committee, in finding misconduct proved, had taken into account his frank admissions and the fact that he had now changed his practice but, above all, had considered the evidence given by character witnesses - including "very impressive testimonials" from a large number of patients and professional colleagues - in deciding to take no further action, apart from a severe reprimand.

The committee heard that Dr Nicholls took blood samples from four men and one woman and sent them for HIV tests while he was a partner at the Tadcaster Medical Centre between 1991 and 1997 without telling them.

The doctor admitted failing to obtain the patients' consent and not counselling them, but denied there was "insufficient clinical indication" to justify the tests.

In a separate charge he had been accused - and was found guilty - of failing to give a patient adequate counselling about having an HIV test.

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