A GMC spokesperson confirmed Dr Varney had interim conditions in place at her practice while the investigation was ongoing.

Those interim conditions include carrying out only consultant-level clinical work in a non-acute setting, being supervised in all of her roles by a clinical supervisor, and obtaining approval from the GMC before beginning work in a non-NHS role or setting.

ILDs are a “broad spectrum of diseases,” but most affected patients were diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to a hospital report.

The report notes that because the median survival after diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was only three to three and a half years, assessing whether there was harm and if so to what extent “was not straightforward.”

Concerns were raised around lack of research, lack of referral to a multidisciplinary team meeting specializing in PID, lack of treatment and inappropriate treatment.

The hospital trust commissioned a review by the Royal College of Physicians, which would last around six months, based on the assumption that harm was “likely to have occurred” in some cases.