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Inquest underway into 'professional negligence' of German doctor

Published on 15 Jan 2010 under category: legal

An inquest into the deaths of two patients at the hands of a locum doctor who had previously been found guilty of professional negligence in his own country has begun.

The inquiry, which is being held in the town of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, is looking into the recent deaths of a pair of local patients, who were treated by a German doctor who had flown into the country just hours before in order to undertake locum work through an agency.

According to the evidence being presented to the coroner, both of the patients were given significant overdoses of painkillers, including a treatment of diamorphine 20 times the size of a normal dose, and were dead within just a few hours of being seen by Dr Daniel Ubani.

The inquest has already been advised that the alleged professional negligence can be largely attributed to 'breakdown in communications' and to the fact that, as the doctor himself has admitted, German healthcare providers are not trained in the use of diamorphine.

This comes just nine months after the same doctor was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £4,500 in fines after being found guilty by the German authorities of causing death by negligence.

The Cambridgeshire case has already prompted the Department of Health to look into the introduction of compulsory training programmes for overseas doctors coming to practice in the UK.

If you require advice on Professional Negligence please call us on +44 (0)20 7831 0101 and ask for Peter Mellett.