Doctor faces disciplinary action over circumcision ops
A doctor who performed circumcision operations will face disciplinary action today after a hearing ruled that he did not provide the standard of care expected of a medical professional.
The General Medical Council (GMC) found Aziz Chaudry's fitness to practise was impaired as a result of his misconduct.
It will decide what punishment he should face at a hearing in central London this afternoon.
The hearing concluded that Dr Chaudry, based at a private clinic in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, had not adequately explained what the surgery involved to the parents of five patients, or that cutting might be involved.
The doctor, who was trained in Pakistan and claimed to have more than 20 years' experience, was said to have provided information about possible complications but not adequate warnings.
The panel concluded Dr Chaudry had not followed GMC guidance to explain the benefits and risks of the circumcision procedure so had not acted in the best interests of the children.
The standard of care was not what was expected of a registered medical practitioner.
Consent forms used for three patients were also criticised for failing to make it clear what information parents had been given and that they had understood the potential risks before signing.
Dr Chaudry was said to have failed to keep full patient records although the lack of notes describing the way a local anaesthetic was administered to three patients was described as a "minor omission".
The doctor was also criticised for failing to inform the GPs of three patients that he had performed a circumcision.
The panel accepted an allegation that Dr Chaudry had told the mother of one boy that "it was not possible" that he had an infection but did not agree that his failure to examine the boy was inadequate as the child had seen another doctor.
A claim that in a follow-up examination Dr Chaudry cleared a blood clot from a four-year-old boy's penis without washing his hands or wearing gloves was not contested but the panel said the doctor's claim that he had cleaned his hands with an alcohol gel while still in his car was "not credible".
The allegations against the doctor were made after complaints from the Muslim families of five boys - three of them brothers - between the ages of 22 months and seven years.
Dr Chaudry admitted failures in relation to his note-keeping after it emerged he had not written down the dosage of anaesthetics he had administered.
But he denied the remaining allegations of misconduct.
The doctor performed some of the circumcisions using the Plastibell technique which was supposedly a "non-invasive" form of the procedure.
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