Indian-origin cancer specialist struck off U.K. medical register over conviction

An Indian-origin cancer specialist who was sentenced in his absence to four years’ imprisonment over alleged coercive behaviour has been struck off the U.K.’s medical register following a tribunal hearing.

Dr. Shamir Chandran, an oncologist with the National Health Service (NHS) in north-west England, has denied any wrongdoing and has since left Britain.

He was convicted last November at Carlisle Crown Court of two counts of “controlling/coercive behaviour” and one count of “cruelty to a person under the age of 16” relating to two unnamed females.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) report this week concluded that his “fitness to practice is impaired by reason of a conviction for a criminal offence.”

“The tribunal took a proportionate approach, balancing the interests of Dr. Chandran with the public interest,” reads the MPTS report.

“The tribunal considered that public confidence in the profession would be seriously undermined if a doctor with this type of criminal conviction were allowed to continue to practice. The tribunal also considered that erasure was necessary to have the appropriate deterrent effect, sending a clear message to the profession about what constitutes proper professional standards.

“The tribunal therefore determined to erase Dr. Chandran’s name from the register,” it states. The General Medical Council (GMC) had informed the tribunal that Chandran was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and made subject to a restraining order following the allegations.

The medic had denied all the charges and did not attend his criminal proceedings, with the MPTS noting that he had “fled the country, resulting in an outstanding warrant for his arrest.”

“I don’t care anymore about the proceedings, as my career has already been destroyed,” reads an email communication from Dr. Chandran to the GMC, included in the MPTS report.

“I am utterly disgusted with the way I have been treated in the U.K., and I will never work in that country again. They treated me like a common criminal without giving any regard to what I had to say and the impact of what they were doing,” he said.

The doctor, whose MBBS qualification is recorded from the University of Calicut Academy of Medical Sciences, Pariyaram in Kerala, also informed the GMC that he no longer lives in the U.K..

“Due to the GMC action, I had to resign from my job and leave the U.K.. I don’t know how I can help with these proceedings now, as I am not working at present,” he is quoted as saying.

Dr. Chandran stated that he could not find the will to practice oncology anymore and was working with a friend in a “private business” as he rebuilt his life.

The tribunal noted that the medic felt he had been victimised and had chosen not to engage with its hearing. “Lacking any evidence of insight or remediation, the tribunal considered that there was a real risk of Dr. Chandran repeating his past conduct,” it said.

The tribunal noted that if an appeal is made against the medic’s “erasure” from the U.K. medical register, its order will remain in force until the appeal concludes.