Bogus surgeon treated hundreds

A bogus surgeon who treated hundreds of emergency patients before his bosses realised he was not qualified was today suspended from working.

Abu Imtiaz Shafi, 32, who worked as a junior surgeon at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington despite having no surgical qualifications, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council and banned from working for 12 months.

The disciplinary committee said he committed a " calculated and continued gross breach of trust and forgery" for more than two years by pretending to have the qualifications when he had in fact failed the exams twice.

Shafi, from Tooting, qualified as a doctor in 1994 with basic medical qualifications which meant he could work as a junior doctor in hospitals.

In 1998 he sat fellowship examinations for the Royal College of Surgeons, but twice failed the tests which would have enabled him to apply for specialist registrar posts as a trainee surgeon.

Despite failing the exams, Shafi managed to get a job as a specialist registrar in 1999 at the Central Middlesex Hospital in north London before transferring to St Mary's in January last year.

As a junior surgeon in the busy central London A&E department, he would have assisted in complex emergency operations to treat, for example, road crash injuries and broken bones.

In April bosses became concerned and asked to see Shafi's certificate from the Royal College of Surgeons. He produced a letter forged to show a "pass" rather than a fail. He was then dismissed and reported to the GMC. He was not at today's hearing.

The hospital now insists on seeing candidates' original qualification certificates.