Doctor battling alcohol addiction banned from work

● Suspension extended after medic fails to turn up to hearing

A doctor who was jailed for a string of attacks on police officers and hospital workers has been banned from returning to work.

Dr Karen Clark, 35, was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2015 after admitting violent outbursts when drunk.

On one occasion while off duty she assaulted four nurses after being taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock for treatment.

She punched one nurse in the head, kicked another, dug her nails into the arm of a third and pushed a fourth.

During other incidents, the hospital medic, who worked at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, attacked police officers and was found drunk behind the wheel of her car.

In May this year she was convicted of theft and housebreaking and a sheriff warned her she would end up dead if she did not deal with her alcohol problem.

Dr Clark was suspended from working in the profession for 12 months by the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service (MPTS) last year.

At a review hearing earlier this month, the MPTS disciplinary panel decided to extend her suspension for another year after she failed to turn up.

Dr Vishal Agrawal, the tribunal chairman, said: “The tribunal is concerned that Dr Clark has failed to address any of the serious concerns raised by the 2016 tribunal. She appears to have completely disengaged from the regulatory process.

“The tribunal considers that in light of the lack of information there would be a risk to patients if Dr Clark was permitted to practise medicine and public confidence would be undermined.

“The tribunal therefore determined that it would be appropriate to suspend her registration for a further period of 12 months. This would allow Dr Clark sufficient time to address the concerns raised and engage with her regulator and legal representatives.”

The medic has detailed her fight against addiction in a blog titled “Karen Clark: a young female doctor shares her journey into recovery from addiction”.