Jailed NHS psychiatrist who practised for 22 years without a licence sparks review of 3,000 doctors who qualified overseas

Thousands of NHS doctors who qualified overseas are having their credentials reviewed after it emerged that a woman had practised for 22 years as a psychiatrist despite having no qualifications.

Zholia Alemi joined the UK medical register in 1995 after she claimed to have qualified as a doctor at University of Auckland, New Zealand. She had actually dropped out in the first year of medical school.

Her deception came to light after she was found guilty of fraud and theft and jailed for five years in October at Carlisle Crown Court, after a jury concluded she had used her position in a dementia service to make herself a beneficiary of a vulnerable patient’s will.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has apologised for “inadequate” checks and insisted that she joined the medical register in the UK under a section of the Medical Act which has not been used since 2003.

This allowed graduates of medical schools in certain Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand, to obtain registration on the basis of their qualification in that country.

As a result they did not have to sit and pass the standard two-part assessment of their medical knowledge and skills – the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board exam (Plab).

The GMC said it was urgently reviewing up to 3,000 doctors who registered through this route and are currently still licensed.

“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,” said Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC. “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.

Alemi’s deceit was only discovered after she was convicted of fraud and an attempt to trick her way into inheriting a patient’s £1.3m estate. Working as a consultant psychiatrist in West Cumbria, she was found to have exploited her relationship with her vulnerable victim, even applying for power of attorney in her name.

She denied charges of fraud and theft but was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison following the trial at Carlisle Crown Court.

Alemi’s contract of employment with Cumbria NHS Trust was terminated after her initial arrest in 2016 and she was interim suspended in June 2017 by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

After her sentencing an officer from Cumbria Police said it was “all the more abhorrent” that she had manipulated someone she had met in a position of trust.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As the organisation responsible for regulating doctors, we expect the GMC to investigate how this criminal was able to register as a doctor and put measures in place to make sure it can’t happen again.”