Kamal Ghorui
A UK doctor who repeatedly asked a Muslim patient to remove her veil during a consultation and later continued working despite being suspended has been struck off the medical register.Dr Keith Wolverson was previously suspended for nine months after being found guilty of multiple misconduct charges linked to incidents between January and May 2018 while working as a locum at urgent care centres in Derby and Stoke. One of the most serious incidents took place on 13 May 2018 at Royal Stoke University Hospital, where he asked a woman, identified as Mrs Q, to remove her niqab three times during an appointment.The patient initially refused, citing religious reasons, but later removed it after repeated requests. Dr Wolverson later claimed he made the request because she “spoke poor English” and he was “struggling to understand her”, adding that he was “trying to look at her mouth movements to aid communication”. A tribunal, however, found her English was fluent and described his explanation as dishonest.The patient later said she felt “victimised and racially discriminated” against. It was also found that Dr Wolverson declined to engage with her husband during the consultation, later stating he found his manner “aggressive and intimidating”. His legal representative admitted the doctor’s behaviour had been “insensitive”.Further concerns were raised about his conduct in other cases, where he recorded comments about the English-speaking ability of 15 patients and their relatives, describing it as “unacceptable” and “not good enough”.Although he was suspended in 2022, it later emerged that Dr Wolverson had continued to carry out locum work during that period, despite clear instructions not to practise. This breach, alongside his failure to attend subsequent tribunal hearings, led to renewed scrutiny.At a review hearing in 2023, Dr Wolverson said he had reflected on his actions and “deeply regretted the comments he made in the patients’ medical notes”. He also argued that continuing his suspension would be wrong given “such grave shortages within the NHS currently”.The tribunal at the time concluded his fitness to practise remained impaired but chose not to extend the suspension, instead placing conditions on his registration for a further 12 months, including supervision. He later returned to work under those conditions.However, a later hearing found that he had “disengaged” from the regulatory process and had shown a “persistent and flagrant disregard” for its requirements. The tribunal also raised concerns about his lack of ongoing practice and the risk this posed to patient safety.Emma Gilberthorpe, chairing the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing, said: “Dr Wolverson had failed to use previous periods of suspension constructively, had remained disengaged throughout, and had shown a persistent and flagrant disregard for the regulatory process.”She added that any lesser sanction would not adequately protect the public or reflect the seriousness of the misconduct. “The tribunal concluded that any lesser sanction would fail to address the current and ongoing risk to public protection,” she said.Dr Wolverson has now been struck off the medical register, bringing an end to the case.
