A FORMER Royal Bolton Hospital doctor who was struck off the medical register after making "inappropriate" phone calls to patients has failed in his bid to work in the UK again.

In 2012 Dr Muhammad Imran, who worked as a registrar in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the Royal Bolton Hospital, was sacked after he made unnecessary calls to female patients and failed to co-operate with colleagues.

On one occasion a patient was at risk of developing sepsis after he did not follow a consultant's instruction to remove a contraceptive coil.

Dr Imran left the UK to work in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and was suspended then struck off the General Medical Council register in 2014 later after failing to turn up to a Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing.

Instead he sent an email to the panel stating: “Leaving UK after this GMC so called hearing and suspension opera proved to be a blessing in disguise for me…This suspension means nothing to me…”

And in a further email he added: "Time will decide that I was not wrong and Royal Bolton victimised me just out of jealousy as they have done this before."

But now, nine years after he was sacked, Dr Imran has appeared before the tribunal applying for reinstatement on the register, which would allow him to work in the UK again.

At the hearing in Manchester he apologised for his behaviour, claiming he had sent the emails at a difficult time and "they do not represent the true side of me".

Applying to be reinstated, Dr Imran told the tribunal that working in the UK is his "passion" and claimed that, while working abroad, he has learnt to understand and apply protocols and improved his communication skills.

His application was opposed by the GMC and their barrister, Elizabeth Dudley-Jones argued that, although the doctor claimed to have changed his conduct, he has now provided any evidence to prove it.

During the original fitness to practise hearing the panel had heard evidence from Dr Imran’s colleagues that he was persistently late for ward rounds and clinics and regularly left early, was unsupportive of other members of staff and ignored instructions from consultants.

Dr Imran would spend hours at a time using the internet for personal use, visiting Autotrader, Pakistani news and flight information websites.

After hearing evidence this week, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal ruled that Dr Imran should not be reinstated on the GMC register.

Tribunal chairwoman Louise Sweet said: "Dr Imran’s insight into his misconduct and what caused it remains insufficient.

"Though Dr Imran has been working overseas since his erasure, he has provided little evidence of improvements in his practice, including any improvement regarding his communication skills, or his ability to follow instructions and work as part of a team.

"The Tribunal has not been persuaded Dr Imran has adequately reduced the risk to patient safety, the risk to the maintenance of professional standards, nor has he gone far enough to restore public confidence in the medical profession as a whole.

"In conclusion, the Tribunal was not satisfied that Dr Imran is currently fit to practise."