A DOCTOR who worked shifts at Basildon Hospital while on sick leave from another hospital has been suspended for six months.

Dr Nazia Soomro worked at Newham Hospital as a Senior Specialist Registrar in Gynaecology and Obstetrics between May 2017 and August 2019.

During that period she also undertook locum shifts as Basildon Hospital.

Between 18 and 23 July 2019, Dr Soomro was scheduled to work a total of seven shifts of which three shifts at Newham University Hospital and three locum shifts at Basildon University Hospital directly overlapped each other, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service  hearing was told.

She failed to complete a whole overlapping shift as there was insufficient time to complete one shift and arrive in time at the other hospital for the start of the other shift, leaving staff shorthanded during those periods. 

Dr Soomro was found to have worked without sufficient rest between these shifts and her actions “had the potential to compromise patient safety”.

In response,. She said: “I am a graduate from Pakistan where I used to work 48 hour shifts continuously. In Pakistan all doctors work 48-72 hour shifts and so I was used to long working hours. I appreciate however that working such long hours is not good practice and I could have put patients and colleagues at risk.”

On four dates between June and August 2019 Dr Soomro also worked at Basildon Hospital as a locum whilst on sick leave from Newham.

In defence, Dr Soomro claimed in a submitted statement that she had worked overlapping shifts and shifts while on sick leave “as a result of financial hardship”

However, lawyers representing the General Medical Council claimed the doctor had “provided no material as to her own finances” as evidence of this claim.

The tribunal determined that Dr Soomro’s dishonesty involved “serious breaches of the standards of conduct” and amounted to misconduct. 

Dr Soomro, who is currently working as a specialist registrar in gynaecology and obstetrics at Broomfield Hospital, admitted to all the allegations and was suspended for six months.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, which runs Broomfield and Basildon hospitals, has been contacted for comment.