A family doctor accused of terrorising surgery staff was also blamed for a patient having to have her leg amputated, a medical tribunal heard today.

Members of a General Medical Council tribunal in Manchester heard that a female patient of Dr Ashok Bhagat lost her right leg due to deep vein thrombosis after her admission to hospital had been unnecessarily delayed by him.

Dr Bhagat, 52, from County Durham is accused of serious professional misconduct over a string of incidents.

He was also jailed for nine months in June 2000 at Teeside Crown Court after he and a pharmacist carried defrauded Durham Health Authority of £6,000.

The GP had dishonestly issued false prescriptions to pay for surgical supplies and drugs.

Members of his staff complained he had massive temper tantrums during surgery, made smutty remarks to a female receptionist and offered her a wage advance in return for sex.

Mr Paul Lawton, counsel for the GMC said the series of events involving the patient - known only as Mrs Morris - began on July 6 1997 when Bhagat visited her at her home and examined her right leg.

During the consultation Bhagat advised Mrs Morris that she should be admitted to hospital. But he decided she could wait two hours before admission.

Mr Lawton said the GP later failed to record in Mrs Morris' GP notes any adequate justification for his decision to delay her admission into hospital.

"She had deep vein thrombosis and the decision to delay admission to hospital resulted in the amputation of her leg," he added.

Baghat - who ran three surgeries in the Newton Aycliffe area of County Durham - is unrepresented and did not attend the hearing in Manchester.

Earlier the hearing was told Baghat was so aggressive his surgery manager quit her job in tears after 25 years service.

His abusive outbursts and violent tendencies terrified staff and patients at his surgery in Shildon, County Durham between 1995 and 1999.

Members of staff complained of having furniture thrown at them by the GP including a plastic chair and a glass of water.

The receptionist alleged Dr Bhagat, of Eatsfields Road, School Aycliffe, near Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, offered her £50 a session for after surgery sex.

He was also said to have asked her to buy him some cannabis because 'he felt horny'. Bhagat denies improper conduct towards staff and denies unprofessional conduct relating to Mrs Morris.

The hearing continues.