A DOCTOR who was working in Limerick fooled the authorities and failed to tell them he had been banned from practice in the UK for serious misconduct.
Dr Abdel Karim El Awad Mohamad, who qualified from the University of Khartoum in Sudan in 1977, gave a different name and birthdate to the Irish Medical Council when he came to practice in Ireland.
He worked in a number of Irish hospitals, including the University of Limerick Maternity Hospital and his deception only came to light when a claim was brought by a patient at the Limerick Hospital.
An expert witness in the civil law case recognised him as being suspended by the UK medical authorities.
On foot of an application from the Medical Council this week, the High Court suspended the doctor from practising in Ireland and High Court President Peter Kelly said that he was publicly stating that Dr El Awad Mohamad is prohibited from practising medicine in Ireland, pending the findings of a Medical Council investigation.
He had been suspended from practice by the UK Medical Council for nine months from May of this year.
Reports at the time of his UK suspension said that he had been found to be culpable of misconduct, serious misconduct and particularly serious misconduct.
In the most serious of the incidents, it was reported that the doctor continued to forcefully examine a pregnant woman at the Northampton General Hospital despite her telling him to stop.
The matter came to light in November when a consultant obstetrician who was giving evidence in a court case recognised Dr Mohamed as the doctor suspended in England and alerted the authorities.
Judge Kelly said it was very important that all paperwork relating to medical staff be thoroughly checked by hospital authorities to prevent a repeat of what happened.
