Worthing dentist rapped after lying to NHS
A WORTHING dentist who lied about his qualifications because he was fed up with NHS bureaucracy has been let off with a caution.
Michael Seare, 47, of the Endodontic Practice in Grand Avenue, thought he should not have to complete training courses required by Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust because he had been in private practice for 15 years.
In frustration, he falsified a certificate saying he had taken a life support course, then threatened to sue the trust when he was told he was being investigated for fraud.
The root canal specialist admitted his dishonesty at a General Dental Council misconduct hearing on Thursday, where he was told his actions had “fallen seriously short” of professional standards.
Despite concerns he had not accepted full responsibility for his behaviour, the panel said his conduct was unlikely to be repeated and issued him with a reprimand.
Seare, a former chairman of his local British Dental Association branch, was headhunted to take NHS referrals at his practice for six months from July, 2009, the panel heard.
He agreed to the arrangement to repay a “debt of gratitude” for the treatment his late wife had received from the NHS for a brain tumour 10 years earlier.
But he “lost his cool” when he was told he would have to complete courses in team training, record keeping, radiation regulation and life support to comply with trust policy.
He later doctored a blank certificate, which was left at the surgery following a life support course he arranged for staff, but did not attend, and sent it to the trust after filling in his name.
Seare later claimed he thought the document had been left for him by the course providers because he had successfully resuscitated a family friend during a recent holiday to South Africa.
But bosses noted the similarity between the handwriting on the letter and certificate, and referred the matter to counter-fraud investigators. No criminal charges were ever brought.
Giving evidence, Seare said he had been frustrated by the requirements imposed by the NHS.
Asked about falsifying the certificate, he said: “I lost my cool. I am an extremely sensible person, but I took the certificate out that I had received and wrote a very rash and impetuous letter.
“It was done in the heat of the moment.”
Seare apologised to the panel and said he had been “humbled” by the experience.
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Weather for Worthing
Monday 28 May 2012
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