Doctor who lied about girl’s death was later promoted
A DOCTOR who lied about his part in the death of a six-year-old girl for which he was blamed was promoted to the role of a consultant while he was under investigation.
An inquest heard how Layla Ermeneki would almost certainly have survived if she had received proper treatment from Dr Harsha Rajanna at Royal Oldham Hospital.
He was branded a liar by a coroner last year, but earlier this year – while still under investigation by the General Medical Council – Dr Rajanna was allowed to move to a new job after gaining a promotion to become a consultant at Tameside Hospital near Manchester.
The 43-year-old doctor was struck off the medical register earlier this month, but Layla’s mother Kirsty said she was appalled that he was allowed to carry on working normally after her daughter’s death in 2017.
“How could they allow him to work all this length of time without taking disciplinary action and ensuring the public were protected?” she said.
“He was totally dishonest in the evidence he gave at the inquest and the coroner said so … The trust must have known from not long after Layla died that he hadn’t been telling the truth.
“I find it very worrying that he was promoted to become a consultant when there was a serious incident review … that highlighted how he had failed my darling daughter,” she added.
“Surely when he applied for the job at Tameside they would have taken references. If they did, then how could they have appointed someone under
‘The trust must have known from not long after Layla died that he hadn’t been telling the truth’
investigation who had been severely criticised by a coroner?”
A spokesman for Tameside Hospital said it believed it had acted responsibly in appointing Dr Rajanna in the absence of a GMC ban on him practising while under investigation.
A spokesman for the GMC said: “While the doctor’s dishonesty was serious in this case, there was no evidence to suggest he posed an immediate risk to patients while our investigation was carried out.”