Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Fake Psychiatrist Lied on His Resume.

From the report

A doctor invented a string of qualifications as he tried to fulfill his ambition of working as a psychiatrist, a disciplinary hearing has been told.

Dr Kelvin Chatoor claimed that he had passed a Bachelor of Science degree with first class honours and that he was the top student in a class of 2,700 pupils.

But the General Medical Council heard that Chatoor, whose ambition was to become a psychiatrist, had dropped out of the course before completing it.

Dr Chatoor also told bosses at the former Queen's Park Hospital in Blackburn that he was a junior doctor in Trinidad, West Indies, when he had only held the lesser role of medical trainee.

He was employed as a clinical fellow in general medicine - equivalent to senior house officer - in August 2000 and left in July the next year.

Dr Chatoor also "escalated" his experience in psychiatry, even claiming he held a post graduate qualification from the Fellowship of the Royal College of Australia and New Zealand, the hearing was told.

Dr Chatoor, 40, of Cheadle, Stockport, faces a catalogue of charges that he embellished his CV to get jobs throughout the UK between May 2000 to April 2005, including NHS trusts in Herefordshire, Kent, Plymouth and Berkshire.

He has admitted his actions were misleading and "not of the standard expected of a medical practitioner" but denied that they posed a risk of compromising patient safety and or that he had been dishonest.

Andrew Hurst, for the GMC, told the hearing that Chatoor's lies made a mockery of a system that depends on honesty.

"This case concerns the systematic and repeated actions by Dr Chatoor as to his qualifications and work experience in his effort to secure the clinical posts that he desired without having the clinical experience he claimed he did.

"Dr Chatoor repeatedly re-worded his experience either by falsely claiming a post he hadn't done or by re-writing history by turning the posts he had held into different specialties in order to advance his CV.

"Dr Chatoor told, we say, escalating lies on his CV as to his psychiatry experience and qualifications.

"Along the way Dr Chatoor claimed a degree he had not achieved or even sat for.

'He also falsely claimed membership of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists."

Dr Chatoor was employed by Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare NHS Trust, which disbanded in 2003 and was replaced by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that the doctor in question worked for the trust between August 2000 and July 2001."

The hearing continues.

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