A bogus gynaecologist who sparked a nationwide health alert after treating thousands of patients while not qualified was kicked out of the profession yesterday.
Dr Henry Akpata (62) also fleeced the NHS out of #18,000 and worked illegally after he had been told to leave the country. In September 2004, he was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on ten counts of false accounting and later jailed for 12 months.
Akpata, who qualified in as a doctor in Germany in 1973, worked in 35 British hospitals and treated up to 15,000 gynaecological patients over seven years, even though he was not authorised to do so.
The Nigerian gave his CV to three agencies and instructed them to find locum posts for him specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology.
He claimed he was a member of the prestigious Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, but had failed the membership exam three times.
After entering the UK in 1995, Akpata worked in gynaecology departments at hospitals in towns and cities across the country, including Birmingham and Walsall. His duties included delivering children and helping perform Caesarean deliveries.
Yesterday the General Medical Council directed he be struck off the register.
The GMC also heard how he continued working even though he lost an application to remain in the UK and an appeal against that.
