London GP suspended for 'staging assault'

A London-based GP has been suspended for fabricating a violent incident with a patient, all in an attempt to have the individual removed from his practice list.

Dr Gurkirit Kalkat, 58, faced a medical practitioners tribunal which found him guilty of serious misconduct and handed down a 12-month suspension, reported the Times.

The incident unfolded at Thames View Medical Centre in Barking, east London, where Dr Kalkat had been growing increasingly desperate to rid his practice of a patient with a history of drug issues.

The patient, referred to only as Patient A in tribunal proceedings, had become a source of concern for the GP as the practice was preparing to merge with another.

In a series of escalating attempts to persuade Patient A to register elsewhere, Dr Kalkat resorted to extraordinary measures.

He falsely informed the patient of a terminal blood cancer diagnosis, suggesting he had merely six months to live. The GP even offered financial incentives, including a staggering sum of £15,000, to encourage the patient to switch to another practice.

In a secret recording made during a consultation, the GP was captured making false claims about the patient's life expectancy, stating he had only six months to live. Despite these efforts, the patient remained registered at the clinic.

Subsequently, in 2020, Patient A was summoned for another appointment with Dr Kalkat. Recounting the incident to the tribunal, Patient A said, "After providing me with a month's worth of prescriptions, Dr. Kalkat suddenly rose and moved towards the exit. He then lightly collided with the door, placed his hand on his chest, and exclaimed, 'Stop assaulting me!'"

Dr Kalkat then activated a panic button, prompting a police response that led to Patient A being briefly handcuffed and removed from the premises.

This unexpected behaviour left the patient bewildered and formed a crucial part of the evidence presented during the disciplinary hearing.

Further investigations uncovered that Dr Kalkat had previously spent over £40,000 of his personal funds on a rehabilitation contract for Patient A.

The tribunal chairman, Stephen Killen, described Dr. Kalkat's actions as "increasingly inappropriate, desperate and dishonest."

He noted that the GP's behaviour had escalated over time, culminating in the staged assault as a last-ditch effort to have Patient A removed from his list.

Despite maintaining his innocence, Dr Kalkat, a resident of Loughton, Essex, was found guilty of grave professional misconduct by the tribunal. But he narrowly avoided being struck off the medical register.

According to the report, the year-long suspension aims to address his professional misconduct while allowing for potential rehabilitation and reflection on his actions.

In his ruling, Stephen Killen, who presided over the tribunal, highlighted that law enforcement records showed the patient had vehemently rejected accusations of assaulting the doctor. Furthermore, Killen pointed out that authorities had decided against pursuing any criminal charges or taking additional action against the patient in relation to the incident.