Dr Wayawa worked in Preston and Chorley from 2018 to 2023
Royal Preston Hospital
An emergency doctor prescribed high value medications to a family member living abroad while he worked at hospitals in Preston and Chorley.
Dr Charles Wayawa, who worked in the urgent care centres at the Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley Hospital between 2018 and 2023, was caught out following an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority after concerns had been raised about the amount being spent on prescribing high value medicines.
The investigation found that, between 2022 and 2023, Dr Wayawa had prescribed drugs that were not required urgently, were not appropriate to be prescribed within an urgent care centre setting and in excessive quantities. He had backdated the prescriptions and used false references in an attempt to avoid detection.
During a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing last month the General Medical Council submitted that, “given the course of conduct and the doctor’s own evidence”, there remained “an ongoing risk of repetition”. The regulator added that “the doctor appeared to be the ‘kingpin’ in respect of his family’s medical arrangements”.
Dr Wayawa admitted all 16 allegations. He explained that the patient had been under ongoing medical treatment overseas and that he had issued the prescriptions to enable her to continue that treatment.
Stephen Brassington, representing the doctor for the Medical & Dental Indemnity UK, said that “Dr Wayawa came from the most humble beginnings, from one of the most deprived areas of the world and was raised in circumstances of deep poverty and deprivation”.
Testimonials submitted on Dr Wayawa’s behalf described him as “compassionate, civic-minded, and selfless, [and] someone who consistently places the welfare of others above his own”.
The MPTS panel noted in its report: “Through the generosity of others, including members of his community, he had obtained a scholarship to study medicine in Poland, where his fees were paid by the Polish Government and his living costs supported by donations from his community.”
After Dr Wayawa left Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in 2023 he took up a post at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. His clinical supervisor at the Manchester trust “confirmed that pharmacy audits had identified no irregularities and that the doctor had received positive feedback for his clinical work, teamwork, and attitude”.
Mr Brassington told the panel: “He has worked without incident, he has provided a hardworking, beneficial service to the patients of his hospital. There have been no complaints, no repetition of this misconduct at any point and his employers are well aware of the circumstances of this case.”
He submitted that in the circumstances of this case, and the references that have been provided, a member of the public would wish for a doctor to be put back into work.
However, the MPTS panel decided to suspend Dr Wayawa for a period of nine months, after which he will be invited to a review hearing.
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