Family doctor is suspended by medical council

5:52pm Saturday 2nd August 2008

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THE Poole GP suspended after "serious concerns" were brought to the attention of the Primary Care Trust has also been suspended by the General Medical Council.

Dr Ralph Vadas, of the West Canford Heath medical practice, was suspended by the Bournemouth and Poole PCT last month following allegations, the details of which have yet to be revealed.

Now a General Medical Council spokesman has confirmed that he was also suspended by its Interim Orders Panel - an action that "could be necessary to protect the public or public interest."

Dr Vadas is the subject of an ongoing investigation by both bodies. The order will be reviewed in six months and the allegations could result in a public hearing.

Dr Vadas was previously found guilty of professional misconduct by the GMC after he failed to spot an elderly patient's fatal pancreatic cancer, diagnosing it as indigestion.

By the time it was spotted, Ron Day was given just six weeks to live and Dr Vadas was subsequently hauled in front of the GMC professional conduct committee in 2002.

At the hearing the GMC highlighted "a catalogue of errors" and a "serious failure" in his care for Mr Day.

He was also found to have acted in an "inappropriate" and "extraordinarily naïve" fashion in breaching a separate patient's confidentiality.

The Poole GP was ordered to undergo three months training in gastro-intestinal disorders and a further six months education in medical ethics. He was allowed to return to unrestricted practice in 2004.

Dr Vadas has been on restricted registration with the GMC since 2006, where agreed undertakings mean he is kept under review and his medical practice is limited in accordance with a supervisor's advice.

The GP, originally from Canada, has practised in Canford Heath for more than 20 years and was described as a trusted and popular family doctor by patients.

In its letter to patients, the PCT has stressed the suspension is "a neutral act" allowing it to investigate matters fully.