A Herefordshire anaesthetist has been suspended from medial practice after writing false prescriptions, a tribunal has heard.
Dr Marc Whitehouse, who has worked as an anaesthetist for the Wye Valley Trust in Hereford since 2016, was subject to a tribunal from the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and the General Medical Council following allegations of misconduct involving signing false prescriptions and lying about his profession.
The tribunal heard that the allegations that led to Dr Whitehouse’s hearing were based on five separate incidents between March 2016 and December 2018.
Dr Whitehouse, who had previously worked as a forensic medical, examiner admitted to writing false prescriptions for use under this profession, whilst not employed by it in any capacity.
On two occasions in June 2016 and October 2019 Dr Whitehouse also wrote false prescriptions for patients at West Mercia Police when the patients were not in custody of the police force and Whitehouse was not working for them in any capacity at the time, the tribunal heard.
Some of the allegations came to light after the case was referred to the General Medical Council on 11 October 2019 by West Mercia Police, after they revealed that Dr Whitehouse was being investigated for fraud.
The referral from the police force alleged that Dr Whitehouse had attended a local pharmacy on 5 October 2019 with a prescription for a patient he claimed to be in police custody.
The tribunal also heard that on December 29, 2018 and October 5, 2019 Dr Whitehouse wrote prescriptions under ‘Whitehouse Medical Services Ltd’ which was a company that had been previously been dissolved.
All allegations against Dr Whitehouse were proven and he admitted to all offences.
The tribunal concluded that Dr Whitehouse’s ability to practice was currently impaired due to the offences committed, and that he should be suspended from practice for four months.
The tribunal determined that it would not be necessary to direct a review on Dr Whitehouse’s case as it was satisfied that "his level of insight was well developed” and that he had “substantially reflected on his misconduct, and taken considerable steps to remedy this misconduct”.
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