It has been alleged that a Syrian surgeon, Dr Ragheb Nouman (52), said that Indian doctors should “clean toilets, not practice medicine”, at the University Hospital of North Tees, Teesside. He allegedly called a colleague an “Indian b******”, and claimed that recruiting Indian doctors would be the “downfall of the NHS”. This has left him to be barred from all practice by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
Dr Nouman stated that he is not a racist and that stress due to the Syrian conflicts led to his outburst.
It is said that the General Medical Council had set up an inquiry to the comments he allegedly made. Speaking to an investigator over the phone, Dr Nouman allegedly mentioned, “Indians should be gardeners.” He also claimed that Indian doctors were complaining about him “because they are rude”.
The panel at the Manchester hearing banned him from all medical practice after disparaging his racist comments. Panel chair, Dr Harvey Marcovitch summarised the decision. He said, “The nature and scope of your dishonesty, the absence of any demonstrable insight, and the absence of any evidence of remediation of your dishonest conduct concerned the Panel. You also repeatedly expressed racist views, namely derogatory and offensive words and phrases towards Indians. You have repeatedly and publicly accused those entrusted with assessing your performance of being dishonest.”
Dr Marcovitch further said, “The Panel is concerned that this is evidence of a deep-seated attitudinal problem. It has already noted in its determination on impairment that it considers the risk of you repeating similar behaviour is high. It finds that the apologies provided in your submissions at this late stage lack sincerity. Whilst the panel understands that you may have been 'angry and nervous' due to the situation in Syria at that time which affected members of your family, it is of the view that this in no way excuses your behaviour. The Panel considered that your behaviour in this regard demonstrates a pattern which is unacceptable.”
