A junior doctor has been barred from medical practice for four months after fraudulently claiming approximately £10,000 in government benefits during her medical training.
Dr Ramkali Kaur, aged 28, received housing benefit, income support, and carer’s allowance for two years while studying at Queen Mary University of London. The payments continued from 2016 to 2018, during which time she failed to inform authorities of her changed circumstances as a university student.
The Case Unfolds
The fraud came to light in 2022 when Kaur, by then working as a foundation year one doctor at Hereford County Hospital, was detained at Heathrow Airport. She subsequently pleaded guilty to three charges of benefit fraud and received a two-year conditional discharge from magistrates.
The situation was compounded by further dishonesty. When registering as a doctor, Kaur indicated she faced no legal proceedings. Later, during a workplace meeting with a consultant anaesthetist, she falsely claimed to have only recently learned about the prosecution against her.
Background and Defense
Kaur’s legal representative presented mitigating circumstances, describing her as someone from a disadvantaged background in Birmingham who became the first family member to attend a selective grammar school. The defense highlighted several hardships: a house fire in 2016 that required her to care for a vulnerable relative, financial difficulties, and what she described as control by an overbearing family member.
Kaur claimed this relative had promised to cancel the benefit claims but failed to do so, even allegedly intercepting postal correspondence. She described the period as devastating and characterized by family turmoil.
Tribunal Findings
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found these explanations unconvincing. Panel chair Emma Gilberthorpe noted that Kaur’s testimony contained inconsistencies and implausible elements, particularly her assertion that she received no banking notifications about the benefit payments.
The tribunal determined that Kaur demonstrated a pattern of dishonest behavior through both actions and omissions. They questioned whether she fully grasped the seriousness of her conduct, noting her evidence was sometimes vague and evasive.
The General Medical Council’s representative emphasized that the misconduct was repeated and showed disregard for professional standards, with limited evidence that Kaur had undertaken remedial training in professional ethics.
Current Status
Following her four-month suspension, Kaur will be permitted to return to medical practice under regulatory supervision. She has expressed remorse, stating she has matured since the events and now understands the importance of honesty with employers and regulatory bodies.
The tribunal acknowledged that while Kaur made serious errors in judgment during a difficult period, the likelihood of recurrence appears low given the consequences she has faced.
