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7 - 13 March 2020
Birmingham GP wrongly convicted Petition urging to 'stop the inhuman treatment of doctors' of groping patient returns to work launched after medic's suicide A Birmingham GP whose 40-year career was destroyed after he was wrongly convicted for groping a patient has been cleared of charges, and allowed to return to work. Dr Rajeshkumar Mehta told Birmingham Mail that he felt ‘delighted’ after his conviction was ‘quashed’ and he was reinstated by the General Medical Council.
Rupanjana Dutta An Indian-origin anaesthetist took his life after being accused of sexually assaulting a teenage patient whom he gave a sedative that has a side effect of sexual hallucination, an inquest has heard in the UK on last Thursday. A post mortem gave the medical cause of the death of the 50year old doctor as drowning. But the inquest later heard, there were no witnesses to the alleged incident, and the patient's description of the accused differed quite a bit from Dr Sridharan Suresh's actual appearance, the Daily Mail reported. His software architect wife, Visalakshmi, reportedly told Teeside Coroners' Court that her husband felt his character had been 'defamed' by the sex claims, which he 'totally' denied. Dr Suresh who was suspended by his employer, was under the impression that police investigation on him was to be discontinued soon and he was going to be allowed back into work. But when he received an email from the General Medical Council on May 2 saying that it was continuing its investigation and that he should attend a hearing in 3 weeks when his registration may be suspended, he committed suicide on the same day. The inquest heard that Dr Suresh had reportedly sent an email to his wife before killing himself, saying that he 'has done nothing wrong' but he did not want to 'go on like this forever'. His wife said Dr Suresh had been totally 'destroyed' and by the claims as she told the court, 'In our eyes, my husband was being defamed,' the newspaper reported. She added that he wanted to clear his name, resign and move to a different city in the UK. In an impact statement,
The medic, who had an unblemished career of NHS service, was jailed for 15 months after he was convicted of sexual assault following an allegation from his time as a Sparkhill GP. The GP was also struck off by the GMC in May 2019, following a hearing by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. The court had heard how the patient, who was a mum-of-two, had attended
Dr Sridharan Suresh
the wife further said her husband had felt isolated, there has been a lack of support, and that even a reassuring phone call 'would have made a huge difference'. When asked by the coroner if Dr Suresh has ever been suicidal or vulnerable before that, Visalakshmi replied with a firm 'no'.
Petition launched for Dr Suresh After the death of Dr Suresh, petition has been launched by his friends and family to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, saying that doctors are accused of misconduct and are being treated as guilty before any investigation by the employer and GMC. In fact a number of doctors are being investigated by the GMC and have committed suicide and the GMC is 'not accountable' for this loss of life. This must be stopped. The petition that has already gathered 17,500+ signatures and looking for more, went on to say that, “The GMC should be made responsible for the wellbeing of doctors who are under its investigation. They should be held accountable for the loss of life of any doctor they are investigating. The UK Secretary of State for Health should bring about change to the statute to achieve this, so that doctors' lives are protected. “Dr Suresh was an anaesthetist who gave sedation to a patient for a dental procedure. The sedative given occasionally causes sexual
Visalakshmi, wife of Dr Suresh
hallucination. The patient accused the anaesthetist of inappropriate touching but there was no witness to this. The patient's description of the accused person was completely different to that of Dr Suresh. "However, not only did the police commence an investigation, Dr Suresh was also suspended from work by his employer, restricted from being alone with his own son by the social services and reported to the GMC by the police. A month later, the GMC wrote to him advising that they too had opened an investigation and that he should attend a hearing in 3 weeks when his registration may be suspended. At this point Dr Suresh took his own life. The family of this doctor has been left devastated. “As lots of doctors have lost their lives while under GMC investigation, Dr Suresh's family and friends appeal to the Secretary of State for help in protecting other doctors facing similar situation." If you wish to add your signature see http://chng.it/X6ghCn7p.
UK vigilante reveals how Indian call centre fleeced vulnerable victims Footage given to the BBC Panorama show has seen how weeping British victims have been scammed. The evidence saw victims revealing their stories of being ripped off by a call centre fraudsters. A hacker, who goes by the name Jim Browning, from the UK, gained access to an Indian call centre's CCTV video footage in their office in Gurugram, near Delhi, and listened to 70,000 phone calls. One of the victims who had only £90 in his bank account was asked to pay £150 to fix a computer by the scammers that had fake pop up warnings appearing on his computer screen as well as that of such unexpected but really vulnerable victims. The Daily Mail reported that the footage that was obtained by this vigilante, showed how fraudsters in the Indian call centre
laughed at the situation of the poor victims. The scam reportedly brought in around $400,000 (£312,699+) a month for that call centre. Jim Browning, who hacked into the CCTV cameras in May 2019, also called in the call centre himself, asking if the person on the other end was in the UK. When the fraudster responded saying he was located in San Jose, he asked the fraudster to name one restaurant in California. When he faltered at responding, Jim then started making fun of the scammer who he could see googling the answer. Jim however said that he does not attempt to gain access to anyone's computer unless they try to scam him first. He also added that once fraudsters' base of operations are discovered, they will often simply change buildings but continue as before, the Daily Mail reported.
the surgery suffering with anxiety and the possible early symptoms of a heart attack and was allegedly groped during her examination. But on December 13 last year after new evidence came to light showing the patient to have lied on oath, Mehta had his conviction ‘quashed’ by the Court of Appeal. On 25 February it was revealed Dr Mehta had been reinstated onto the medical register which will allow him to practice again. Dr Mehta told the
Birmingham Mail, "I am delighted that my name has been reinstated onto the medical register, which I had joined back in 1978. After three very hard years, which left my career and reputation severely damaged, I can now look forward to the future. "Once again, I want to thank my family and my legal team for their unwavering support." Solicitor Nigel Richardson, who represented Dr Mehta reportedly said, "This is what we were working so hard to achieve and we are elated to see his name restored to the medical register. "Dr Mehta's life had been destroyed on account of these false accusations, and clearing his name was the first step in rebuilding his career that he worked so hard to get in the first place."
Sajid Javid attacks No10 Chief at PMQ The Prime Minister's Question Time on last Wednesday was a very interesting watch, as Boris Johnson's former Minister Sajid Javid made a polite yet powerful attack on the Prime Minister's No10 Chief, saying that the changes to the Treasury planned by Dominic Cummings were 'not in the national interest'. The former minister used a resignation statement in the Commons – which was watched by Boris Johnson with Priti Patel and Rishi Sunak on his each side. Javid said that a semi-merger of No 10 and No 11 behind the scenes teams would be a hindrance to the finance department's ability to 'speak truth to power'. Though Bromesgrove MP did not name Mr Cummings directly, but he joked that there had been a
lot of gossip already about 'comings and goings', and a roar of laughter was heard from the listening MPs in the Commons. He further said, “A Chancellor, like all Cabinet Ministers, has to be able to give candid advice so he is speaking truth to power. “I believe that the arrangement proposed would significantly inhibit that and it would not have been in the national interest. “So while I was grateful for the continued trust of
the Prime Minister in wanting to reappoint me, I am afraid that these were conditions that I could not accept in good conscience.' “It has always been the case that advisers advise, minsters decide and minsters decide on their advisers. “I couldn't see why the Treasury, with the vital role that it plays, should be the exception to that.” “I very much hope that the new Chancellor will be given space to do his job without fear or favour.” But he then he went on to praise the current Chancellor and said, “And I know this Mr Speaker, that my right honourable friend for Richmond (Chancellor to Exchequer Rishi Sunak) is more than capable of rising to the challenge.”
Tan Dhesi MP becomes first Asian member of the Defence Select Committee Tan Dhesi MP has become the first BAME member of the Defence Select Committee. The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, having been established in 1979. It oversees the operations of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies, including the Armed forces. As a delegate member of NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme and the President of the National Sikh War Memorial Campaign, he has had strong involvement in defence issues since his election in 2017. As Parliament has formed after the 2019 General Election, MPs are now joining the new Select Committees. After previously being member of the Housing, Communities
and Local Government Select Committee, Tan Dhesi MP for Slough has been elected onto the Defence Select Committee. Dhesi believes, this will provide an opportunity for him to gain an even greater understanding of UK's Armed Forces and decisions made in Parliament regarding defence. He said, “It is an honour to join the Defence Select Committee, after having been a member during the last 2 years of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee. I’m looking forward to learning more about our Armed Forces, to strengthen my understanding of our legislation surrounding defence and to make more informed decisions on this important issue.”