Family doctors accused of misconduct are being suspended for up to four years and at a cost of up to £900,000, according to figures revealed by the NHS under the Freedom of Information Act.

Primary care trusts in England disclosed that 134 GPs have been suspended over the last three years. The trusts pay 90 per cent of the doctors’ salaries during suspension, costing the NHS £8.2 million.

Norman Lamb, health spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, described the costs as scandalous. “They involve a huge waste of public money and show that the system of pursuing allegations against doctors is failing,” he told The Guardian.

GPs suspected of misconduct are suspended by their primary care trust or by the General Medical Council, which regulates doctors. Trusts handle less serious cases and must seek approval if they last longer than six months. John Canning, of the British Medical Association, said that the disciplinary system can be “quite slow” to ensure that both sides have time to prepare. “But even bearing that in mind, too many cases take too long,” he said.

David Stout, director of the PCT Network, said that the speed of the system coulod be frustrating. “Some of the delays are excessive, very costly and benefit nobody.”

The trust for Haringey, north London, spent £1.4 million in the last three years on three GPs who were suspended. Newham, east London, spent £1.1 million on seven suspended doctors since 2006.

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