A SOUTH AFRICAN doctor employed by the NHS despite falling foul of the medical authorities on three continents has been suspended after an investigation by The Sunday Times.

Maurice Saadien-Raad, who has been working as a psychiatrist treating vulnerable patients, was told by the General Medical Council (GMC) last Friday that he would not be allowed to practise for 18 months while it investigates his practice in Britain.

Saadien-Raad, who is 59 and lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, has previously been threatened with removal from the medical register in South Africa for “disgraceful conduct” and banned from practising in Tasmania.

His record also earned him a reprimand by the GMC in Britain in 2004. The council has declined to disclose what Saadien-Raad did in South Africa or what led to his suspension in Britain.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that he carried out a series of botched surgical procedures before he began to specialise in psychiatry.

The case has raised concerns among health workers and patient groups that the NHS is failing to check foreign doctors adequately.

Katherine Murphy, director of communications for the Patients Association, said: “The NHS has a responsibility to the people it is providing a service to.

“If it is as easy as this to get a job working as a doctor in Britain then we should not be surprised that there are so many problems with patient safety.”

Saadien-Raad was employed as a locum psychiatrist by Bradford District Care Trust between November 2006 and July 2007 working with patients with learning disabilities and mental health problems. As a locum, he would also have worked for other trusts.

The Sunday Times began investigating Saadien-Raad after being alerted by a former colleague of his concern that he was practising in Britain.

Saadien-Raad has been in Britain since 2002. After a series of disciplinary hearings in South Africa, he later lied about his record to register as a doctor in Tasmania.

He was forced to leave when his deceit was uncovered after complaints about his medical competence.

Saadien-Raad said: “It is ridiculous they are raising this now. This happened a long time ago and it has been dealt with. It is finished and it is wrong to go over it again now.”

Bradford District Care Trust declined to comment.

Additional reporting: Daisy Collins and Terry Bell

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