Foreign doctor faked medical degree

Urgent checks are being made on up to 3,000 foreign doctors after it was revealed a fake psychiatrist was allowed to practise for 22 years with no qualification.

Zholia Alemi claimed she had a primary medical qualification when she first registered in the UK in 1995.

In reality, her claim to have a degree from the University of Auckland in New Zealand was fraudulent.

Alemi was jailed for fraud last month after she took advantage of an elderly patient, changing her will to make herself a beneficiary.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has apologised for “inadequate” checks made in the 1990s.

Alemi’s deception has now triggered urgent checks on the licences of potentially thousands of other doctors.

While working as a consultant psychiatrist for a dementia service in West Cumbria, Alemi exploited her relationship with her victim, even applying for power of attorney in her name. She denied charges of fraud and theft, but was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison following a trial at Carlisle Crown Court.

The GMC said Alemi joined the UK’S medical register under a section of the Medical Act not in force since 2003.