04 May, 2009

GP overdose family 'wants justice'

GP overdose family 'wants justice'

The family of a man who was given a lethal overdose by a foreign GP says justice has not been done and questions remain unanswered.Skip related content

German-based Dr Daniel Ubani treated 70-year-old David Gray at his home in Manea, Cambridgeshire, on February 16, 2008. It was his first shift for a health trust in the county and came just hours after he had landed in the UK.

Ubani gave Mr Gray, a former senior technical manager at British Aerospace who was in severe pain from kidney stones and renal colic - 100mg of diamorphine - ten times the correct dosage - as well as 4mg of buscopan.

An investigation was launched in April 2008 but Ubani, who claimed he had been overtired when he administered the drug, was never arrested or charged with an offence by UK authorities.

Mr Gray's son, Stuart, a 49-year-old GP from Blakedown, Worcestershire, told ITN On: "This Dr Ubani was suspended on February 29. He then came back in August 2008 for a GMC (General Medical Council) hearing. But the police didn't do anything. I wish they'd known about it. They could have arrested him."

By November 2008, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was enough evidence to charge Ubani with manslaughter and a European arrest warrant was issued on March 12 this year.

Twelve days later, the CPS was told legal proceedings were under way in Germany. The GP was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence for negligence, and had to pay a 5,000 euros (£4,450) fine.

It has since emerged Ubani was given the sentence in his absence after admitting causing death by negligence in written correspondence. He is reportedly continuing to practise in the city of Witten.

Last July, the family was astounded to receive a letter from Ubani apologising for the "fatal mistake". In it he said it was a result of confusion between drugs, one of which was not used by on-call medics in Germany, and being "too tired".

Mr Gray's family says many questions remain unanswered, including why it has been virtually impossible to get any information on the case in Germany, where another of his four sons, Rory, lives.

Despite visiting police stations in Witten, Siegen and Darmstadt, Rory Gray says German police have been unable to tell him anything other than they have been searching for Ubani since March 23.

Christine Braithwaite of the the Care Quality Commission (CQC) health watchdog said: "This is a deeply disturbing case and one that must be thoroughly looked into. We have to ensure that any lessons are learned."

She added: "We are aware of a number of concerns in relation to out-of-hours care provided by Take Care Now to the NHS. We will be looking into these issues to ensure that the interests and safety of patients are properly safeguarded."

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed they had looked into several further allegations against Ubani but no charges were brought against him.

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