Doctor ‘spied on celebrities and overdosed on stolen drug’

A JUNIOR doctor who snooped on celebrities’ medical records overdosed on stolen fentanyl, an inquest heard.

Dr Julien Warshafsky, 31, reported himself to the General Medical Council (GMC) after being caught stealing the drug. However, the coroner adjourned the hearing in Woking, Surrey, saying that the GMC should be legally represented so that it could respond to allegations made against it.

At the time of his death, Dr Warshafsky had been a junior doctor at the Royal Surrey Council Hospital in Guildford. He was also a trainee anaesthetist. Karen Henderson, the coroner, heard that Dr Warshafsky would steal leftover narcotic fentanyl to self-medicate for depression. He referred himself to the GMC in 2013 after being caught by colleagues.

During a period of sick leave, Dr Warshafsky was found dead on his bed at the flat he shared with his wife, Mariana, in Woking, on June 28, 2016. At the inquest on Thursday, the GMC admitted a catalogue of errors and lost opportunities in the lead-up to his death.

Dr John Smyth, the assistant director of case examiners, said the GMC had infrequently tested him for drug use but failed to check for fentanyl.

The inquest heard a colleague at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Foundation Trust had sent an anonymous email in December 2014 saying Dr Warshafsky was still stealing the drug and was accessing celebrities’ medical records.

The hearing was adjourned until a date to be decided.