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BRISBANE - Exhaustive background checks were carried out on a Gold Coast doctor suspended for allegedly lying about his employment history, the Queensland Government says.
Indian national Dr Mohammed Asif Ali, 26, has been suspended with pay from the Gold Coast Hospital on Friday after police brought an "anomaly" to the attention of Queensland Health. The doctor was interrogated over his relationship with former terrorism suspect Dr Mohamed Haneef earlier this month by the Australian Federal Police.
The Courier-Mail newspaper reported that Ali's resume included up to 12 months of hospital work in India that he never performed. Ali was instead attending to family problems and had taken time off.
The newspaper said his medical qualifications were not in doubt and Ali was described as being a competent doctor. Queensland Health's director-general, Uschi Schreiber, has referred the matter to the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Medical Board of Queensland.
Ali's suspension comes despite the Queensland Government promising vigorous checks on overseas-trained doctors following the Jayant Patel scandal. Patel, who falsified his application for registration in Queensland, hiding the fact he had been found guilty of gross negligence in the United States, has been linked to the deaths of least 17 patients at Bundaberg Base Hospital.
- AAP
