Negligent South Tees doctor who tried to cover up mistake wants return to UK

An inquest into the death of a 79-year-old man heard how Dr Srikanth tried to cover up error by destroying one record and attempting to get others to make dishonest statements

Welcome to the latest edition of The Teesside Lead as we dig into the case of the anaesthetist who was barred by the General Medical Council while working at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

He now wants to return and practice again in the UK. Senior health figures are some of the most trusted in our society, so scrutiny over the decisions they make is crucial - we put our faith in them.

How they also act after mistakes is made is a crucial consideration too - and the GMC clearly felt concerned by the actions of Dr Krishnamurthy Srikanth.

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A South Tees doctor who was struck off after not reading the notes of a patient who later died, and then tried to cover it up, lied about his misconduct when he tried to secure another job in Merseyside.

Dr Krishnamurthy Srikanth made the admission in written evidence to a medical tribunal last week as he attempted to have his name restored to the register, having been struck off in 2015.

As an anaesthetist, Dr Srikanth failed to check the records of a 79-year-old patient at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton who was undergoing a major cancer operation in 2009.

The Friarage Hospital

Dr Srikanth put the patient to sleep but only realised he had had his larynx removed 33 years previously and would need a tracheostomy tube to support his breathing when he started turning blue.

The patient died at home less than a week later after choking on an excess of mucus - an issue he had experienced for a large part of his life.

At an inquest into the patient’s death, Professor Alan Aitkenhead - a professor in anesthesiology - said he would have died regardless of Dr Srikanth’s actions, but that they amounted to “gross negligence”.

That inquest heard how Srikanth tried to cover up his negligence by destroying one record and attempting to get others to make dishonest statements.

He was suspended by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the day of the incident. He was struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC) in November 2013, leaving him unable to practice in the UK.

However, in an attempt to return to practicing in the UK, he has now admitted lying in January 2013 when he failed to disclose his previous misconduct when he was applying for a job at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.

Since being struck off, Dr Srikanth has been working in Saudi Arabia, but is a UK citizen and hopes to return to work here.