NRI
Dr. Satya Gupta barred from practising over claims of NHS fraud
London, Aug. 05, 2008
Lal Singh
NRI Dr Satya Gupta, 62, who raked in the huge profits and made
£270,000 in a year. He was investigated by the NHS's anti-corruption
unit since 1977 and has been suspended for practising
up to 18 months by the General Medical Council.
Dr Gupta, who lives in expensive North London suburb Barnet,
practised at the Oldhill Medical Centre until he retired in August,
2007.
The investigators like to find that how his earnings were linked
to a scheme that pays family doctors for accruing points for hitting
targets, such as measuring blood pressure, giving vaccinations
and carrying out cholesterol checks.
NHS's counter-fraud team, which has prosecuted more than 400
doctors, dentists and other health workers for financial irregularities.
Dr. Gupta previously admitted and said:
- His surgery took £270,000 a year from the NHS - but
insisted his take-home pay was £130,000 after staff costs.
- 'I have two other doctors and two locums who I pay out of
that amount,' he said at the time.
- Mine alone is about £130,000...I have 9,000 patients
on my books. There needs to be at least three doctors for that
number.
- 'Everything I do is above board. I run my surgery in the most
professional manner. It's nobody's business but mine what I
earn.'
An inquiry by Hackney and City Primary Care Trust and conclude
that:
- He had made huge profits from a practice in one of Britain's
poorest inner-city areas - Hackney in north-east London.
- His points total for 2006/2007 has been slashed from 884.62
out of a possible 1,000, to 798.62 following an audit, giving
him the second lowest score for a practice in his area.
- Ways of over-inflating scores could include claiming that
patients have had checks or treatments when they haven't.
The contract allows GPs to earn a third of their income by hitting
targets supposed to measure quality of care. These include cholesterol
and blood pressure checks and administering flu jabs.
The Government had estimated GPs would meet 70 per cent of the
targets, but in fact they are meeting 90 per cent.
