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A junior doctor has been erased from the medical register after being dishonest about examining patients when she did not.

Niloofar Monibi, from Iran, who was a trainee doctor at Peterborough City Hospital, qualified from Kings College, London, in 2016 and almost immediately went to Cambridgeshire and worked between August 2016 and December 2017.

But in November 2017, the doctor failed to examine two patients who needed physical examinations - which would have taken five minutes.

On November 3 and November 6, Monibi had to do a head-to-toe examination of two patients respectively.

But after examining neither, one of the patients became anxious and thought there may be something wrong with her health, so she spoke to another doctor about why she was not examined.

After an investigation, it was found that Monibi claimed she had examined the patients but had not - but instead relied on copying previous examinations from someone else hours before.

'Not enough time'

At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service tribunal, Monibi attended a hearing on June 28 where the allegations of her misconduct were examined.

In a report written in the course of the decision, it was argued that the real reason she did not examine the patients was because "she felt she didn't have enough time" and "no-one would be any the wiser."

On the first patient, Monibi said: "I had to attend a meeting with Dr E at 10am and felt under pressure to finish seeing the patient beforehand.

"Given this problem and the time pressure to be present at the meeting on time, I was not able to touch the abdomen.

"But I did have a look at the abdomen and asked the patient twice whether she was in any pain.

"My clinical impression was there had been no change in the physical status of the patient since the patient was seen by the specialist registrar doctor that morning."

When cross-examined, the doctor said that she knew not examining the patient was "not perfect practice" - but thought as she was under time pressure it was acceptable.

On the second patient, Monibi was monitored after suspicions from a doctor from the first patient. Monibi said: "I had a meeting with the foundation school director that day in Hinchingbrooke and I was anxious to get there in time travelling from Peterborough.

"Given this and the time pressure I had, I was unable to listen to the chest.

"However my clinical impression was that there was no change in the physical status of the patient since the patient was seen by the registrar doctor and entered the findings."

On November 8, the report stated that she had a face-to-face interview with a doctor, who asked if she had examined both patients - to which she replied she had.

The doctor then gave her evidence from a nurse and the patients. The report read: "After which, Dr Monibi backtracked and admitted that she did not examine the patients, although she did attempt to justify her actions."

Monibi then apparently said she had examined the second patient very quickly when no-one was looking. But the doctor told her that she had been observed at all times during the examination and that she was not telling the truth.

Monibi then told the doctor she did not have "enough time."

In her reflective statement, Monibi wrote: "I do understand that for a thorough review of the two patients, I should have physically touched the two patients myself, I am certain that this was an isolated event and a similar event would certainly not happen again."

When making the decision, the tribunal accepted that Monibi was of previous good character and that the dishonesty took place during a difficult period in her life - but repeated dishonesty "plainly amounts to serious misconduct."

(Image: Terry Harris/Bav Media)

What Monibi had to say about her actions

Since the incident, Monibi remained in the UK until April 2018, then she moved back to Iran.

She gave a written submission to the hearing. She wrote: "Although I find the fact that I did not physically touch two patients below the standard, at the time I genuinely understood there to be no change in the general condition of the patients and so I relied on the finding of the registrar.

"I genuinely understood the patient not to be under any risks.

"I certainly do understand and agree that the level of practice in those two instances is below the standard and I am sincerely remorseful.

"I sincerely apologise that I brought public confidence in the medical profession into question.

"Following the two incidents in November 2017 and having to move from the country I consider home, I was very remorseful.

"I am genuinely not a dishonest person. I am known to be very virtuous and of a good character and there is no previous history of a similar misconduct.

"I am not intending to blame another individual."

The tribunal accepted her expressions of regret and believed her remorse was genuine, but determined that her misconduct was "fundamentally incompatible" with the continued registration on the medical register.

It concluded that her name had to be removed to maintain public confidence in the medical profession.

What the NHS trust had to say

Dr Kanchan Rege, medical director for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City Hospital, said: "When we became aware of the situation with Dr Monibi, the Trust restricted her clinical practice to preserve patient safety, which must remain paramount at all times.

"Whilst we are saddened by these circumstances, as Dr Monibi worked very hard during her training, the Trust agrees that this is the right decision and we wish her well for the future."