A General Practitioner from Leeds has been suspended from practice for six months after she drove a child to school while heavily intoxicated, crashing into parked vehicles and admitting she could have caused a fatality.
The Incident and Arrest
Dr Kate Eve, a qualified GP since 2010, confessed to consuming most of a 250ml bottle of vodka before agreeing to give a lift to a child, referred to only as Child J. She then drove the 'short distance' to a school, a journey she stated she had undertaken 'numerous times' before. Her vehicle collided with several parked cars at the school during the drop-off in July 2024.
Upon arrest, Dr Eve was found to have 151 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. This reading was over four times the legal limit of 35 micrograms. She was subsequently charged and convicted of driving a motor vehicle in a public place with excess alcohol.
Legal and Professional Consequences
In court, Dr Eve received an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. She was also disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
The case was then reviewed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). At the hearing, Dr Eve accepted full responsibility, stating that 'an apology was not a big enough word' and that she thinks about the possibility she could have killed someone every time she passes the school. The tribunal chair, Julia Oakford, noted Dr Eve had 'rationalised her decision' and took a 'calculated risk'.
Tribunal's Decision to Suspend
The MPTS tribunal determined that her actions posed a medium level of risk to public protection and that the seriousness of the offence could not be addressed with conditional registration alone. To maintain public health, safety, and confidence in the medical profession, they imposed an immediate six-month suspension from practice.
Dr Eve, a University of Leeds graduate (2003), had built a career with a focus on vulnerable patients, including those experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers. She also held a qualification in substance misuse, completed in 2017. The suspension marks a significant fall from grace for the healthcare professional.
