A DOCTOR married to the boss of a health trust is facing a three-month suspension from the medical register after illegally supplying drugs to a female relative.

Dr Sahil Chaudhry’s fitness to practice was impaired by his “wholly unacceptable”

misconduct, the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled yesterday.

Last night, a spokesman for NHS County Durham and Darlington issued a statement backing chief executive Yasmin Chaudhry, who is married to the Teesside GP.

It insisted she had “not been involved at any stage in the issues which have been investigated by the GMC”.

Dr Chaudhry, who now works at the Woodbridge Medical Centre, in Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, was convicted at Teesside Crown Court and given a 12-month conditional discharge in December 2008 after he was convicted of two counts of falsifying documents while working at the Barley Fields medical practice, in Ingleby Barwick.

He signed four prescriptions in the name of a female colleague, which were for the use of a female family member.

Dr Chaudhry also altered his colleague’s patient records to show the prescriptions were for her benefit. He did not pay for the prescriptions because his colleague was exempt from charges, although he was not.

Following a five-day hearing in Manchester, the GMC’s Fitness to Practice Panel also found that in September 2007, Dr Chaudhry pressured his colleague to withhold the truth from the NHS during a fraud investigation.

It noted he had previously been given his colleague’s permission to use her name and medical records for prescribing, had made minimal financial gain from issuing the prescriptions and that the purpose of the prescriptions had been genuine.

But the panel did not accept his explanations that he had signed the prescriptions to protect a family member from her GP, a Dr David Levan, who was struck off the medical register for inappropriate sexual behaviour towards another female patient in 2007.

The panel said Dr Chaudhry’s request to use his colleague’s name to obtain prescriptions pre-dated his knowledge of allegations against Dr Levan.

The panel found that Dr Chaudhry’s actions represented four incidents of inappropriate, dishonest and fraudulent conduct.

Alan Jenkins, representing Dr Chaudhry, said his client was a good doctor who was not a threat to the public.

Under the circumstances, the GMC panel decided it was not necessary to immediately suspend Dr Chaudry.

A spokesman for NHS County Durham and Darlington said: “The situation has no implications for, or impact on, the running of NHS County Durham and Darlington.

“The board of NHS County Durham and Darlington fully supports Yasmin Chaudhry in her role as chief executive.”

NHS Stockton and the Woodbridge Practice are considering the implications of the GMC ruling.

Dr Chaudhry has 28 days to appeal before he is suspended for three months.