Doctor struck off British register may work here

A DOCTOR whose name was removed from the British medical register last year can continue to work in Ireland provided he does not work in any independent capacity.

This is among the conditions set down by the Medical Council last October after its fitness to practise committee found Dr Hassan Hassan Baker, a consultant anaesthetist, guilty of professional misconduct.

However, the council’s British counterpart, the General Medical Council (GMC), considered it “insufficient” to attach conditions and opted instead to strike his name from its medical register. Following a complaint alleging Dr Baker’s management of acute and complex cases could put patients at risk, the GMC decided that, in the circumstances, it was “satisfied that conditions would be insufficient to protect the interests of the public”.

The basis for this opinion was Dr Baker’s continued lack of response to the GMC’s communications and his refusal to engage with the GMC in its attempts to assess his fitness to practice. Dr Baker registered to work in Britain in February 2001.

Under conditions set down by the Irish Medical Council last October:

Dr Baker can only work under the supervision of a consultant anaesthetist whose name is also entered on the register of medical specialists.

His supervising consultant anaesthetist must provide a report on his clinical competence on request by the Medical Council.

Dr Baker must inform all employers and/or prospective employers of the existence of these conditions prior to taking up any employment as a registered medical practitioner.

His work practice will be assessed by a nominee of the College of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland or by some other suitably qualified person appointed by the Medical Council in default of the College of Anaesthetists agreeing on a nominee.

He must draw up and submit a professional development plan for approval by the Medical Council.

The conditions imposed by the Medical Council will remain in place for three years and Dr Baker will be responsible for all costs incurred in relation to compliance with these conditions.

The conditions, described as “health-related” by the Medical Council, are attached to Dr Baker’s name in the council’s register, which is open to public inspection.

Dr Baker, who lives at Cloister Grove, Careysfort Ave, Blackrock, Co Dublin, has told the Irish Examiner he has liver disease and is not currently working. He has been registered to work in Ireland since September 1991 and since then has worked in a range of hospitals in the east and north east including intermittently as a locum anaesthetist in Naas Hospital in the 1990s and at Monaghan General Hospital this decade.

A spokesperson for the Health Service Executive (HSE) said Dr Baker had not dealt with any acute or complex cases while at Monaghan General, where major surgery has not been carried out since 2002.