He claimed £40,000 for NHS shifts but the whole time he was on holiday in the sun

A doctor has been struck off after he fiddled his time sheets to falsely claim more than £40,000 from the NHS. Dr Rajeev Reghunath faked signatures to claim he was working eight hour shifts when in fact he was on holiday in India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Between April 2019 and March 2021 the locum psychiatrist, who worked in Trafford doing shifts for Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust via the Pulse Healthcare agency, claimed for 35 eight hour shifts for which he was paid around £1,300 a time.

In April 2019 he claimed for three shifts, despite being in Turkey, while in June that year he submitted timesheets for four shifts while in the United Arab Emirates.

And, in February and March 2021 he claimed for 20 shifts, despite being in India, where he is thought to remain to this day.

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At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing, Dr Reghunath was found guilty of serious professional misconduct with his actions said to be 'unacceptable and dishonest'. The tribunal ruled that as Dr Reghunath was 'out of the UK on holiday' he knew he had not worked the hours he claimed.

Much of the wrongdoing took place during covid restrictions. But while Dr Reghunath carried out consultations via video calls or over the phone he wasn't permitted to work while outside Greater Manchester. The scam was uncovered after the doctor had left the UK on a one way flight to Bangalore in February 2021.

An internal investigation report said: "Concerns were raised about a number of days claimed to have been worked. RR and Pulse Agency had conversations with RR over email and text message regarding