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A hospital doctor in Wolverhampton who stole money from a vulnerable patient and a colleague has been suspended from her profession for a year. It comes after Dr Sandra Ndirika, a urology trainee at Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust, admitted two counts of theft and seven of fraud by false representation at the city’s magistrates’ court in 2023. She received a suspended jail sentence of 32 weeks in January 2024. A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MTPS) panel has now ruled her fitness to practise has been impaired after she cloned and took bank cards and used them to make purchases. Sitting for four days in August, the panel heard the doctor removed a wallet from the coat of a patient, who had attended her clinic during the Covid pandemic. She took £30 and cloned his bank card, later using it to buy items on 22 May 2023. She also falsely represented herself as the bank card owner while making purchases online. ‘Mind was in fog’ The second complainant was a nurse whose bank card Ndirika stole from her purse, in her handbag in the staff room, and used for an online food order. The tribunal heard Ndirika had admitted the allegations when interviewed by police under caution and was later suspended from her job. The doctor told the panel that, at the time of the offences, “there was no premeditation; her mind was in a ‘fog’, and she acted without thought, only feeling shame afterwards”. The public record of the tribunal’s determination, partially redacted, stated Ndirika “characterised herself as still being at the beginning of her journey towards meaningful change” but “firmly anticipates being ready to return to work in the future”. She had been engaging in ongoing professional development to keep her clinical knowledge up to date, it said. In determining a sanction, the tribunal found Ndirika’s offending breached professional standards and undermined trust in the medical profession. ‘Risk of repetition’ “These were not isolated incidents but a pattern of behaviour where the doctor took advantage of her vulnerable patient and colleague, directly contravening the expectation that doctors must be trustworthy and honest,” it stated. In mitigation, the panel accepted she had shown remorse and attempted to apologise to complainants, which was declined. However, it concluded the “risk of repetition” remained “likely” since she had not demonstrated sufficient understanding of the impact of her actions or taken steps towards “genuine remediation”. It decided her fitness to practise was impaired by reason of her conviction and her registration was suspended for 12 months from 22 August. A review hearing will be held before the end of the suspension period. In a statement, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s chief medical officer, Dr Brian McKaig, said: “As soon as we were made aware of the allegations, we suspended Dr Ndirika whilst investigations were carried out.” – BBC
