Rogue medical practitioners working in Britain

Overseas doctors who have misconduct and sometimes even criminal records are working in the NHS in Britain. Since 2006, the GMC has uncovered 138 cases of medical practitioners who, despite being branded a danger in their own countries, have been treating patients in Britain.

Among the most prominent cases are the following:

•          Dr Hellfried Sartori, an Austrian, who was jailed twice in the USA for practising without a licence and was blamed for accelerating the deaths of four cancer sufferers in Australia after employing “alternative therapy”, which included injecting a with a mixture containing paint stripper. He was banned in Britain in 2008 after a number of complaints, but by then he had been registered here for 13 years.
•            Dr Marcos Ariel Hourmann from Argentina came to Britain in 2005. He arrived after being charged with killing a patient in Spain and worked in a number of Accident and Emergency wards around the country. He was convicted in Spain in 2009 and struck off by the GMC the following year, but not before acting as a police forensic examiner in Wales.
•            Maurice Saadien-Raad, a South African, worked for four years in British hospitals despite the fact he was twice suspended in his homeland and was dismissed from a clinic in Australia when his competence was brought into question. He was suspended in 2007 after giving out the wrong drugs and being accused of deception and sexual harassment.
•       According to experts, the cases that have been uncovered could represent the tip of the iceberg as many rogue health practitioners could have flown in under the radar. The problem is that, although foreign practitioners are required to produce a certificate from their most recent country of work, which should include details of any disciplinary action, there is no worldwide standard. This means that overseas regulators may fail to include relevant information or may not go back far enough. This can result in crucial information being left out.

NiallDickson, GMC Chief Executive, notes that when the GMC takes action against a doctor, it informs other regulatory bodies around the world. He believes that all regulators should do the same but, at present, this is not the case.

JuliaManning, Chief Executive of the think tank 2020 Health, has summed up the problem. She says, “ When we have doctors working in this country who have been found guilty of misconduct abroad, or even struck off, the risks are clear.”

NHS must act to reduce health inequalities

According to a report presented by the Institute of Health Equity at the London headquarters of the British Medical Association (BMA), action must be taken to reduce the health divide between the rich and poor.

The report, which has the support of the BMA, stresses that insufficient attention is paid to the social and economic conditions that contribute to poor health. It highlights the problem by pointing out that in England the life expectancy of the best off is seven years longer than that of the poorest; this gap rises to 17 years in London and 28 years in Glasgow.

ProfessorSir Michael Marmot, whose 2010 review “Fair society, healthy lives” highlighted health inequalities and who helped prepare the report, says that although Britain has the world’s most equitable health service, social inequalities are leading to inequalities in health. In his 2010 review he assessed that health inequality costs Britain some £31-33bn annually in lost production and taxes, £20-32bn in welfare payments and £5.5bn in additional costs to the NHS.

Professor Marmot believes that while health professionals are aware of the problem, there is a sense that others should deal with it and that there is little they can do. Many organisations and individuals, however, have received the report favourably and agree that action is both necessary and possible.

BMA representative Dr Vivienne Nathanson says that many doctors are already looking at the social conditions that contribute to their patients’ ill health, but there is a need to spread the word about this integrated approach to treatment.

For his part, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt supports the report and has called on health professionals to deal not only with medical issues but also the underlying social and economic causes of ill health. The NHS, he points out, has a legal duty to reduce health inequality.

In April, responsibility for the prevention of ill health passed to local authorities. The report, however, is aimed at the health service. Among its key recommendations are:

•          Access to potential medical careers for people from all backgrounds should be improved.
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•          Health service providers should act as advocates for patients and for changes in policies.
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•          Social history should be recorded alongside medical history and medical practitioners should provide referrals to other relevant agencies for those in need
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•          Medical training and professional development should include the social determinants of ill health.