India doctor banned from practising in Britain

LONDON: High-profile Indian doctor Tonmoy Sharma has been banned from practicing in Britain after he was found guilty of conducting unethical drug tests on mentally ill patients in the country.
     
The General Medical Council of Britain has decided to "suspend" Tonmoy, 42, from the medical register with immediate effect, a spokeswoman of the GMC said on Monday.
     
The Fitness to Practise Panel of the GMC at its meeting yesterday determined that "it is necessary for the protection of members of the public that Dr Sharma's registration should be made subject to suspension with immediate effect," she said.
    
Sharma, who hails from Assam and is a former lecturer at the prestigious Institute of Psychiatry in London, will get 28 days to lodge an appeal, according to the order.
     
Sharma, a prominent psychiatrist who often appeared on the BBC and wrote books on mental illness, was served with the notification of the Panel's direction on Monday.
     
While General Medical Council had sough the doctor's immediate suspension "for the protection of members of the public, Sharma had said it was not necessary as patients are not at any risk.
      
In its order, the panel said the issues raised were of "serious concern" and that it was not satisfied that such misconduct would not be repeated.
     
The GMC which examined his research over 10 years found the doctor guilty of recruiting patients suffering from schizophrenia and Alzheimer's in unsolicited telephone calls, conducting unauthorised tests and misleading drug companies about his methods.