paid £300,000 for not working

Doctor paid £300,000 for not working

A senior doctor has earned around £300,000 from an NHS hospital for doing nothing for more than three years while suspended over claims of his incompetence.http://www.richimag.co.uk/nhs2009/

Published: 12:27PM GMT 22 Mar 2009

Consultant cardiologist Sisiresh Chakrabarty, who worked at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk, has been suspended on full pay since November 2005.

NHS national employment guidelines mean he was kept on the pay roll.

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A General Medical Council hearing was eventually held in January and ruled that the Indian-born doctor had "deficiencies" in his professional ability.

He was criticised for the way he dealt with patients, his communication skills, relationships with colleagues, record keeping and working within regulations.

Dr Chakrabarty was also banned from doing private locum work without the approval of his supervisor.

But the hearing ruled that he could work again if he met strict conditions which included being supervised and keeping in touch with the GMC.

However, Ipswich Hospital is still reviewing his contract and has not decided how best to proceed.

It is not known exactly how much he earns - but the NHS pay scale for consultant cardiologists is between £73,000 and £99,000.

Hospital spokeswoman Jan Rowsell said: "We are bound by national guidelines relating to salaries in cases like this.

"We are carefully considering the feedback from the GMC and in accordance with the procedures we will formally meet with the doctor concerned to review the situation."

Dr Chakrabarty, who qualified as a doctor in 1982 at Ranchi University in India, was unavailable for comment.