Doctor who ran away to Pakistan
DISGRACED anaesthetist Dr Nadeem Azeez fled to his native Pakistan when he faced criminal charges following the death of Frances Cappuccini.
It was later revealed that he should have been under supervision after nearly killing another mother in a similar incident only months before.
But despite this, he was entrusted to treat Mrs Cappuccini alone at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Kent in October 2012.
Coroner Roger Hatch yesterday heavily criticised him for removing her breathing tube too early and failing to put it back in soon enough.
He also questioned how truthful he had been when he told colleagues Mrs Cappuccini had been ‘breathing well’ and had moved her arms before he raised the alarm.
Dr Azeez, fellow anaesthetist Dr Errol Cornish, and the Maidstone and Tunbridge Well NHS Trust, all faced charges of gross negligence manslaughter. But Dr Azeez fled to Pakistan before he was charged and an international arrest war- rant was issued. The Mail tracked him down 5,000 miles away where he was living in lahore. There is no extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan, and lawyers admitted it would be ‘very difficult’ to bring him back. The father-oftwo was photographed outside his large home in one of lahore’s most sought-after areas.
The criminal trial went ahead in his absence but collapsed and all charges were dropped.
Before the judge ruled there was no case to answer, the court heard how Dr Azeez described a previous ‘critical incident’ – in which a woman had to be urgently resuscitated to save her life – as a ‘good learning experience’.
In a statement heard during the inquest, Dr Azeez sent his condolences to Mrs Cappuccini’s family. He claimed he had suffered from ‘depression, insomnia and flashbacks’ and had decided to relinquish his registration as a doctor. He last provided a statement in February 2014.