The records of up to 3,000 doctors are being reviewed after it emerged that a woman worked as a NHS consultant psychiatrist for 22 years with fake qualifications before she was convicted of trying to defraud a patient.
Zholia Alemi, 56, was jailed for five years last month for faking an 87-year-old patient’s will as part of an attempt to inherit her £1.3mn estate after they met at a dementia clinic in Workington, Cumbria in 2016.
Following the trial, an investigation by the Cumbrian newspaper News and Star revealed Alemi had been working in the UK for more than two decades with forged qualifications from the University of Auckland.
The convicted fraudster had failed the first year of medical school in New Zealand in 1992, but subsequently managed to register as a doctor with the General Medical Council (GMC) with a forged degree certificate, forged primary medical qualification and a fake letter of recommendation from her most recent job in Pakistan, under a visa scheme that has since been discontinued.
The investigation has prompted an urgent review of all doctors who registered with the GMC under the scheme, which allowed graduates of medical schools in some Commonwealth countries to work in the UK without having to pass an exam.
The GMC said it was incredibly rare case but started a review after the News and Star made them aware of the details of Alemi’s faked qualifications.
In October, a court heard how Alemi befriended Gillian Belham, then 84, who was struggling to deal with the recent death of her husband. Alemi redrafted the pensioner’s will and fraudulently applied for power of attorney over her estate. The consultant psychiatrist was found guilty of four fraud and theft charges at Carlisle Crown court and was jailed for five years.
In response to the cases, Charlie Massey, the chief executive of the GMC, said: “It is extremely concerning that a person used a fraudulent qualification to join the register and we are working to understand how this happened. We have brought this to the attention of police and other agencies, including NHS England, so that they may also take any necessary action to support patients and answer any questions they may have.
“Our processes are far stronger now, with rigorous testing in place to ensure those joining the register are fit to work in the UK. It is clear that in this case the steps taken in the 1990s were inadequate and we apologise for any risk arising to patients as a result. We are confident that, 23 years on, our systems are robust and would identify any fraudulent attempt to join the medical register.
“Patients deserve good care from appropriately qualified professionals and place a great deal of trust in doctors. To exploit that trust and the respected name of the profession is abhorrent.”
A Cumbria police spokesman told the News and Star: “Cumbria Constabulary is liaising with the General Medical Council and will be commencing further criminal investigations relating to allegations of fraud and any potential further offences. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
