Paediatric consultant suspended after NHS charging claims

A paediatric consultant being investigated over claims he may have charged patients for NHS appointments has been suspended.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has confirmed the action against Dr Anish Anish pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Dr Anish was named by BBC News NI in March as being at the centre of an investigation by the Northern Health Trust, who he used to work for.

He has strongly denied that he charged for NHS appointments.

The GMC confirmed Dr Anish had been suspended on an interim basis as it conducts its own investigation, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.

Dozens of parents of children with ADHD and autism had told BBC News NI they had been left in limbo after Dr Anish ceased seeing clients privately.

He told BBC News NI in March that he was unwell and unable to meet with clients as he would like.

As well as private work, the doctor carried out NHS work at the Northern Health Trust, but subsequently left the trust.

In a statement to BBC News NI, the General Medical Council said "decisions about whether restrictions are necessary to protect patients or doctors" are taken by a medical tribunal.

It said if a referral is made for a full tribunal hearing after an investigation, it will "usually be heard in public" with details published online by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).

In March, the Northern Trust said: "Dr Anish is no longer employed by the Northern Trust.

"Having received a number of complaints from parents whose children were under Dr Anish's care while he was working for the trust, we have begun a retrospective case note review of patients who were seen by Dr Anish within the trust's paediatric service during a nine-week period at the end of last year."