GMC suspends doctor for false research claims

GMC suspends doctor for false claims to research

London

Owen Dyer

A consultant who forged the signatures of two colleagues and falsely claimed authorship of research in which he had played no part was suspended for three months by the General Medical Council last week.

Ranjit Sinharay was an associate specialist and locum consultant at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan, when he learnt of research carried out by a nurse practitioner, Diane Bird, into the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. Ms Bird presented her research, which was supervised by George Strang, at the trust’s annual research day in November 2001.

In February 2003, seven months after leaving the Royal Glamorgan for a post at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Dr Sinharay submitted a research letter for publication in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

The letter was published in June 2003 under the title: "Sinharay R, Strang G, Bird D, Cost effective strategy for a safe diagnosis of DVT at a district general hospital. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2003, 19; 363."

The license for publication that Dr Sinharay forwarded to the Postgraduate Medical Journal purported to bear the signatures of the nurse Diane Bird and Dr Strang. But Dr Sinharay admitted to the GMC’s fitness to practise panel that he had signed their names himself without informing them.

He also acknowledged that he had played no role in the original research, which was entirely the work of Ms Bird.

The false claims came to light after hospital staff noticed the research letter. The hospital’s clinical director of medicine, Mike Page, asked Dr Sinharay to write to the editor of the Postgraduate Medical Journal, John Mayberry, explaining that the research had not been his own work.

Dr Sinharay admitted the factual charges at the outset of his two day hearing in Manchester, accepting that his conduct had been "unprofessional and dishonest." He was found to have been dishonest both in forging his colleagues’ signatures and in claiming partial responsibility for the research in his first letter to the Postgraduate Medical Journal, which included the words "We carried out a trial."

Paddy Conway, lay chairman of the fitness to practise panel, told Dr Sinharay: "It is clear that you intended readers to assume that you took a leading part in the research when you knew that this was not the case."

But Mr Conway noted that character witnesses had agreed that Dr Sinharay was held in high regard by colleagues and patients and was a valued member of the medical team at the Royal Gwent Hospital. "In view of the remorse which you have shown, the isolated nature of the matters before this panel, and the fact that no direct harm came to patients as a result of your actions, the panel considers that a short period of suspension would be sufficient," said Mr Conway, suspending him for three months.