A doctor who used an expired NHS pass to pretend to be staff at a hospital he’d left six months prior has been suspended.

Dr Bervin Teo Chong Wei turned up at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough wearing an NHS-issued pass and claimed he was a consultant working there in order to get a blood sample taken by another doctor.

But the doctor had actually stopped working for the South Tees Hospitals Trust six months earlier in October 2021, when he turned up in April 2022 wearing the old pass.

He told a doctor he was working on the ward or at the hospital to get them to take and process a blood sample.

A misconduct hearing was told he also pretended he did not have access to a web system “due to a technical problem”, but in fact no longer had permission to access it having ceased working for the trust.

Recommended reading:

Get more from The Northern Echo with a digital subscription. Get access for 3 months for just £3, or get 30% off an annual subscription with our latest offer. Click here.

He admitted accessing the system and submitting his blood samples for testing using two other peoples’ accounts despite being asked not to and/or to leave.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing concluded his fitness to practice as a doctor was impaired and suspended him from six months.

Panel chair Mr John MacGregor said: “Dr Teo Chong Wei’s registration will be suspended 28 days from the date on which written notification of this decision is deemed to have been served.”