TERIBA: DOCTOR STRUCT OFF FOR DELETING PRESCRIPTION RECORDS

A doctor who prescribed huge amounts of drugs to patients then removed the details from their medical records was kicked out of the profession today (Tues).

Dr Aderemi Hakeem Teriba tried to hide his ‘potentially dangerous’ actions by deleting prescriptions from 13 patients’ records as soon as he had issued them.

He also treated 99 patients at the Clapton Surgery in Theydon Road, Hackney, while banned from doing so, the General Medical Council heard.

Teriba was found guilty of a string of charges at a misconduct hearing in central London.

Today the GMC panel ordered his name be struck off the medical register.

Panel chair Ralph Bergmann told him: ‘ We consider that you have demonstrated little insight into your dishonest and misleading behaviour, even during this hearing.

‘The panel regards your misconduct as serious breaches of the many principles of good medical practice and of such a serious nature that a period of suspension would be insufficient to protect patients, the wider public interest and the need to uphold proper standards of conduct.’

He added: ‘Doctors, patients and members of the public need to be reassured that serious misconduct of the kind in which you have engaged is unacceptable.’

Mr Bergmann had earlier told Teriba that his claims he had deleted information because he was trying to ‘tidy up’ the records was ‘implausible’ and ‘dishonest’.

Teriba, who qualified in 1972 from the university of Ibadan and had worked in Hackney since April 2004, also failed competency tests which ‘raised significant concerns regarding patient safety,’ the panel heard.

Andrew Colman, for the GMC, said his actions came to the attention of colleague Dr Benjamin Bradley when a patient asked about contraceptive medication he had prescribed, but no record could be found.

He was subsequently found to have deleted records on 11 patient files between May and July 2008.

Many of them showed ‘a similar pattern of prescribing followed by immediate deletion.’

Some cases included gynaecology patients, and the prescription of antibiotics, both of which were areas in which Teriba’s practice had been criticised by an independent review.

Others ‘involved potentially dangerous prescribing of multiple medications,’ said Mr Colman, which could have caused both short and long term harm to the patient.

Teriba was also found to have deleted a letter he wrote to a firm of solicitors about a patient in November 2006, and removed details of instructions to a nurse to give a vitamin injection in April 2007.

The GP was cleared on failing to tell colleagues about the initial condition imposed on his work in September 2008.

But he was found to have failed to inform the surgery or PCT of continuing conditions in March the following year.

He then continued working without a workplace supervisor, in breach of the conditions, and treated two gynaecological problems when banned from doing so, the panel ruled.

The doctor also falsely claimed that he was being supervised by another doctor at the practice in a letter to the GMC in June 2010.

By September last year, Teriba had been ordered to work only at a training practice where he could be closely supervised by a named GP principal.

But he returned to work and treated 99 patients at the surgery between 1 and 3 September 2010, the panel ruled, which found his action were deliberately dishonest.

‘Dr Teriba promptly returned to work at the Clapton Surgery,’ Mr Colman has said.

‘That was not a training post and he was not supervised at all.

‘He saw patients in the morning and afternoon of 3, 6 and 7 September and in the morning of 8 September – 99 patients in total – until he was stopped by the urgent intervention of the primary care trust’s medical director.’

Teriba also underwent a performance assessment in summer 2010 which found his practice was unacceptable in six core areas and identified concerns in a further five., the hearing has been told.

‘The team commented that his lack of ability to proactively manage chronic illness and under performance in emergencies raised significant concerns regarding patient safety,’ said Mr Colman.

ends