An optometrist who was convicted of false accounting five years ago has been refused restoration to the General Optical Council register.
Jayesh Patel was erased from the register of optometrists in April 2009 and the GOC's registration appeals committee refused restoration 'on this occasion' saying it would undermine public confidence in the profession.
The committee heard how Patel had admitted 20 counts of false accounting and two counts of using a false instrument in December 2007. He received a suspended custodial sentence of nine months and was ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service, repay the stolen monies and make a contribution towards costs.
It followed an NHS Counter Fraud Service investigation into numerous false claims for services and products Patel never provided at his practices in Leicester and Kibworth (News 15.02.08).
Last week Patel gave evidence to the committee that since his erasure he had supported his sister who has health issues and carried out weekly tutoring for up to 10 A-level students. He accepted that the punishment he received was 'wholly appropriate and welcomed by him'.
Patel said he had repaid monies to the NHS in addition to paying the prosecution costs. He has also disposed of his optical retail business and was 'emphatic that the circumstances which led to the original offences could not now be repeated'.
In making its verdict, however, the committee 'reminded itself that this had been a very serious, systematically conducted fraud, undertaken over a lengthy period against the public purse'. It also said Patel did not provide information about appropriate courses and a pathway back to establishing he was fit to practise, or evidence of his stated interest in teaching optometry in another country.