A Nottingham doctor, United Kingdom will be able to carry on practising after making “derogatory and unacceptable” comments about two Muslim patients. Dr Balvinder Mehat, a GP partner at Bakersfield Medical Centre, made the vile remarks on a voicemail to a patient he forgot to hang up in 2021.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal heard he described two “problem patients” with offensive insults. The recording was circulated on social media two years later and “caused some concern amongst the Muslim population”, which makes up 20 per cent of the doctor’s patients.
Dr Mehat, who is Sikh and grew up in India, previously told the hearing he was “truly embarrassed and ashamed”. The tribunal found his actions “demonstrated hostility based on race/religion”. However it said his words were not motivated by racial/religious hostility.
It ruled his behaviour amounted to serious misconduct but found his practice was not impaired, meaning he will avoid any sanction such as a suspension. At the conclusion of the tribunal on December 18, the panel decided to place a warning on the doctor’s record.
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“The tribunal anticipates that the warning will act as a deterrent and reminder to Dr Mehat and the profession as a whole that his conduct fell below the standard expected and that a repetition is likely to result in a finding of impaired fitness to practise,” the decision reads.
The tribunal further said Dr Mehat had shown considerable remorse which it accepted was genuine.
It also noted he had taken action to remediate his misconduct, including taking courses on anger management and unconscious bias, apologising to local Muslim community leaders and donating money to a mosque. (Nottinghamshire Live)
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