A 58-year-old Indian-origin doctor has been suspended for 12 months for falsely accusing a patient of assault to get him removed from his surgery list. Gurkirit Kalkat, who worked at Thames View Medical Centre in Dagenham, Essex, England, wanted to remove the patient because of a merger with another doctor’s practice. He crossed the line, including assaulting himself and falsely claiming the patient had attacked him.
The incident occurred when Kalkat called the patient for an appointment, slammed himself against the door and hit himself on the chest, screaming, “Stop hitting me!”
The patient, who had a drug problem, sat in a chair looking in shock.
After this Kalkat suddenly applied pressure and police officers arrived there and took the patient away handcuffed.
However, the investigation was dropped when Kalkat declined to prosecute, the Daily Mail reports.
Kalkat had previously also lied to the patient, telling him that he had a serious condition of blood cancer, so that he would register with another general practitioner (GP).
They also paid £44,000 towards the patient’s rehabilitation treatment.
Kalkat was unable to explain why he was paying for the patient’s treatment out of his own pocket, the Daily Mail reported.
Patient secretly films medical practitioner
During the first consultation, the patient secretly videotaped medical practitioner Kalkat in which he falsely claimed she had six months to live and offered her an extra £15,000 to leave the practice, the Daily Mail reports.
At the Manchester-based Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, Calcutt, from Loughton, Essex, was suspended from practising medicine for 12 months after being found guilty of serious professional misconduct.
Tribunal chairman Stephen Killeen said: “Dr Calcutt continued to act in an unreasonable, desperate and dishonest manner in his attempts to get Patient A to register elsewhere. It was clear that, if Dr Calcutt reported Patient A for her violent behaviour towards him, he would no longer be required to act as her GP.”
The doctor claimed the patient threatened to harm him
Kalkat denied any wrongdoing and claimed the patient had demanded £15,000 and threatened to harm him and his family.
“It was clear that if Dr Calcutt accused Patient A of being violent towards him, he would no longer be required to act as her GP. Taking into account all the available evidence, it was more likely than not that the report made by Dr Calcutt to the police that Patient A had attacked him was false,” said chairman Stephen Killeen.
Kalkat did not attend the tribunal hearing but instead submitted a written statement through his lawyer in which he expressed concern for his safety due to the patient’s alleged erratic behaviour.
The tribunal eventually suspended Kalkat for 12 months for serious professional misconduct.