Manslaughter probe for NHS doctor ‘aged 82’
AN elderly doctor who was once suspended for lying about his age is now being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter.
Dr Isyaka Mamman, who may be as old as 82, was quizzed by detectives after his patient Shahida Parveen, 48, collapsed while he took a bone marrow sample.
Police are probing whether a hypodermic needle pierced soft tissue around Mrs Parveen’s heart and not the sternum as it should have done.
Dr Mamman is still employed by the NHS despite being suspended 14 years ago for falsely claiming to be under 65.
At the time he said he was 58, having been born in 1947 – but he also claimed to have started university in 1958.
Rules in 2005 meant doctors could not be employed in the NHS if they were over 65, but the restriction was later lifted because of age discrimination laws.
Dr Mamman told investigators he had started training when he was so young because he had been ‘very brilliant’.
He also insisted the date on which he was born in Nigeria was not recorded and described the importance British authorities place on it as a ‘Western cultural trait’.
He was suspended in 2005 for 12 months after a tribunal agreed he had lied about his age to get a job in the NHS. When he applied to register as a doctor in the UK in 1964 he listed his date of birth as September 1936 – which would make him 82 now.
When the default retirement age was phased out Dr Mamman was able to return to work, and has been employed by Pennine Acute Trust in Greater Manchester.
A court heard that the doctor had intended to take bone marrow from Mrs Parveen’s hip, but the procedure was unsuccessful so he took a sample from her sternum. She collapsed and later died.
Dr Mamman was arrested last month, with officers finding prescription-only medication in different names at his home in Royton, near Oldham,
‘Insists there was no negligence’
Tameside Magistrates’ Court heard. They also discovered legal documents showing various dates of birth.
After being interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter and prescription fraud, he was released on bail forbidding him from leaving the UK or practising medicine. The probe only came to light this week when he went to court in an unsuccessful bid to vary his bail conditions so he could fly to Nigeria for a wedding.
His lawyer, Asif Akram, said: ‘Dr Mamman insists there was no negligence on his part and his actions did not contribute to the death of this woman.’
Under General Medical Council rules, all doctors must undergo an annual appraisal plus a thorough skills check every five years.