Twisted doc faked children’s cancer diagnoses
BY SALLY HIND A PAEDIATRICIAN wrongly diagnosed children with cancer to scare parents into paying for private treatment, a watchdog has ruled.
Dr Mina Chowdhury, 44, was yesterday found to have created “an unwarranted sense of concern” before recommending treatment linked to his private medical company in Glasgow.
Chowdhury frightened three sets of parents into paying for private scans and tests offered by his company, Meras Healthcare.
He also avoided referring the children to the local NHS paediatric oncology department for further investigation by warning parents of long waiting times, claiming equipment was not available and altering medical notes.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found that Chowdhury’s behaviour was “dishonest” and “financially motivated”.
A panel will now consider whether his fitness to practice as a doctor is “impaired” because of the misconduct and, if so, decide on the appropriate sanction, which could include being struck off.
Chowdhury worked for the NHS in Forth Valley but the allegations relate to his private work between March and August 2017.
He first went before the MPTS in Manchester in October, where he denied attempting the claims.
Delivering its findings yesterday, tribunal chair James Newton-Price said: “He tried to persuade Parents A, B and C to pay for unnecessary tests in relation to unwarranted cancerous diagnoses.
“The tribunal is driven to the inescapable conclusion that Dr Chowdhury acted as it has been found in order to increase the income or reduce the losses of his business and that all his actions were therefore financially motivated.”