Dr Udoye is a Nigerian Doctor who relocated to the UK in 2005. He was interested in becoming a GP in the UK having worked as a General Practitioner in Nigeria. He enquired and discovered that he could practice as a GP via two routes: through the CCT route or the CEGPR route.  He decided to choose the CCT route. He applied and was accepted to do training in Scotland but had to drop out in his second year due to visa restrictions. He decided to take the alternative route of obtaining CEGPR. He travelled to Dubai to take the exams after confirming from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) website that the curriculum is the same. He passed the exam.

He later contacted the RCGP and was told that though he was a qualified international GP, his qualification could not enable him to work as a GP in the UK. 

 

He then contacted NHS Health Education England to guide him on the best course of action to be able to practice as a GP in the UK. He was referred to the Head of Continuing Practice, Postgraduate School of Primary Care Dr I.L. He contacted Dr I.L in April 2016 for advice. Dr I.L in his position and experience reviewed Dr Udoye’s documents and advised that as an international GP, the NHS Induction and Refresher (I &R) Scheme route would be the ideal route.  Dr Udoye had not heard about this scheme prior to this. 

Dr I.L informed Dr Udoye that the process would also involve pre-assessment exams, interviews, and clinical placement. The National Recruitment Office (NRO), NHS England and Health Education Northeast were involved in the scheme. Dr Udoye then applied for the scheme and, after reviewing numerous documents, was approved, and accepted into the program.

 

An official of NHS England emailed Dr Udoye that he was not on the GMC GP Register. Dr Udoye responded to tell her that his CEGPR application was refused in April 2017. He was then advised that he needed 12 to 18 months of experience to get on the register.  At that juncture, he did not know how to proceed, and he believed that she had more experience to guide him. She told him she was seeking advice and would get back to him. However, she did not get back to him again. Dr Udoye went on with the I and R scheme. During the scheme, he worked under the strict supervision of a GP trainer. 

He was also invited to apply for a Bursary to which participants of the scheme were entitled. He applied and was granted the Bursary. 

He completed the scheme and was recommended by his trainer to be added to the GP register. This was refused by the GMC.

 

An allegation was made against Dr Udoye by the same organisation that processed his application and helped to secure his placement after he completed and signed off from the placement and completed the I & R scheme in late February 2018. The allegation was that he was practising as a GP without being registered as a GP. GMC obtained an interim order to restrict Dr Udoye’s medical practice for 15 months without even carrying out any investigation. Dr Udoye was accused of breaching his professional mandate and dishonesty for being accepted into the GP I & R scheme. They referred the case to the Interim Order Tribunal of the MPTS. The interim order was however revoked as the Tribunal investigated the case and did not find any of the allegations sufficient to render his fitness to practice curtailed. 

 

Not satisfied with this the GMC further referred Dr Udoye to the Fitness to Practice Tribunal of the MPTS. 

The GMC accused Dr Udoye of dishonesty by stating he was a GP in his I and R application form which he filled out in May 2016. Their basis is that they had told him multiple times he was not eligible for the scheme. They speculate he still went ahead to fill out the form to pave a quicker path to get on the GMC register. Surprisingly the GMC acknowledged that they had brought this to his attention for the FIRST time in April 2017, a full year after he had filled the form! Except he had powers to see the future, this accusation is purely unfounded speculation.  

Secondly, He is accused of practising as a GP during his I &R placement despite being under Supervision as a trainee. Thirdly he is also accused of dishonesty in claiming the bursary for the I and R program. This makes no sense since he applied for a bursary, which he was eligible for because he was already in the program. 

The Tribunal deliberated on the case and considered all the evidence. At the end of 15 days of hearings, the Fitness to Practice tribunal of the MPTS concluded that Dr Udoye had made an honest mistake in filling the I and R application form and there was no indication of dishonesty. He was cleared of any wrongdoing.

 

The GMC in an apparently vindictive stance were not satisfied and appealed the decision of the MPTS tribunal and has gotten a go-ahead from the High court to restart the case at the MPTS all over again. The GMC have clearly stated that they intend to have Dr Udoye erased from the GMC register and apparently, they will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.

One would be excused for seeing this as nothing short of victimisation racism and abuse of power on the part of the GMC. Dr Udoye has suffered untold emotional hardship during these gruelling episodes with GMC that have spanned almost 5 years. It has come at a great personal cost to him and his family. 

A recent report has found the GMC to be inherently racist towards BAME and this case is almost a Deja Vu. 

In a period of unprecedented shortage of doctors in the workforce in the U.K. and pressures on the health service, this is a very scary situation for doctors. If the GMC maintains this trajectory, It will further dampen the morale of doctors in general and BAME doctors. The confidence of Doctors in the GMC as a regulator is at the lowest it has ever been, and this will further serve to alienate Doctors from the GMC.  

We are therefore calling on the GMC to stop this needless witch-hunt and allow Dr Udoye to move on with his life and career. 

By NDUK and NGPUK