Alcoholism & depression in the profession

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is often faced with cases of solicitors suffering from co-morbid alcoholism and depression, but what help do these professionals get to overcome their problems? Solicitor Jonathan Goodliffe, writing in this week’s NLJ, says that the tribunal’s procedures do not encourage recovery. The General Medical Council takes a different approach. Its disciplinary process identifies doctors whose misconduct arises from health problems and deals with them under a distinct procedure. It also runs a Practitioners Health Programme focusing on conditions such as alcoholism and mental health.