A BRIDGWATER GP has avoided heavy punishment despite being warned for the second time about his conduct following the death of a patient in his care.

A General Medical Council hearing last week ruled that Dr Wulf Franzen, from the Redgate Medical Centre in Westonzoyland Road, had impaired his ability to practice by failing to heed a warning about his record keeping in the lead-up to the death of 78-year-old Lilian Hadaway in November 2006.

However, the GMC took the “wholly exceptional” step of not taking further action against him, citing several mitigating factors.

Mrs Hadaway died in hospital on November 24, 2006, from acute renal failure. Earlier that day, Dr Franzen had been called to her Bridgwater home after she suffered a hyperglycaemic attack.

The GMC panel hearing found on Friday that Dr Franzen “failed to make any or any adequate record of the consultation for the GP notes”.

Dr Franzen had been warned about the requirements of good clinical care - including record keeping - at a previous GMC hearing in September 2006, in relation to the death of 76-year-old Pawlett man John Gainard, in 2003.

In deciding not to impose a sanction, the panel said it took into account that the previous warning related only to record keeping, that there had been no evidence of further failures over record keeping since November 2006, that Dr Franzen had acknowledged his error and apologised, and that no harm came as a result of his error.

Afterwards, Mrs Hadaway's son-in-law Peter Reed told the Mercury the panel decision was the best news the family could have hoped for.

He added: “It is just surprising to know he was handed his first warning just weeks before Lilian died.

“I feel that we have closure over Dr Franzen now and it just shows that our hard work in pursuing the case has paid off.”

No one at the Redgate Medical Centre was available for comment as the Mercury went to press yesterday (Monday).