A doctor in the UK who had asked a female patient to take off her veil has been suspended for nine months. 56 years old Dr. Keith Wolverson, who is a practising medico for the last 25 years and worked at Royal Stoke University Hospital and Derby Urgent Treatment Centre, has been suspended for the act. He was banned from working for nine months after a misconduct panel concluded that his actions were ‘deplorable’.
During a hearing conducted by the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service, a total of 17 allegations of wrongdoing against Dr. Wolverson were determined to be true. The doctor was deemed to have committed several ‘serious’ acts of misconduct when working as a locum or temporary doctor at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
However, Dr. Keith Wolverson said that he will appeal against the decision. The doctor was charged with the offences after he had asked a patient, an immigrant woman, to remove her veil because he could not understand what she was saying under the veil. He had asked the patient to remove the veil three times, and he has already apologised to the woman for the same. The other charge against him is that he had also said that some immigrants are not proficient in English even after living in the UK for a long time.
The doctor said, “I’m going to appeal against this. I feel very sad for the public because it would mean a further shortage for the NHS when it is extremely stressed. I think this is something people are frightened to talk about now, and I think this is a big problem, and we don’t talk about these things and they get misconstrued.”
He added, “It’s all very sad because I don’t think this is what the public want – let the public decide. What would they rather have, a doctor with 26 years of experience to see them, or a doctor removed from the medical register for nine months? It’s not about me trying to belittle an ethnic group or be prejudicial against anyone of any cultural background, it’s all about clarity of communication.”
Dr. Wolverson qualified as a medical professional in 1996. He was found guilty of or admitted to a combined 17 of a total of 28 charges of misconduct. All of these charges date from January to May 2018.
There were two major allegations against the doctor. One was that he repeatedly requested a married Muslim woman to remove the veil that covered her face. This incident took place during a consultation on May 13, 2018. Wolverson said that his inability to comprehend what she was saying from behind the veil led him to request that she take off her veil. He said, “I don’t ask people to remove their veils anymore. But, I sometimes find it really difficult to consult with people or hold a conversation with them when part of their face is covered.”
The other allegation was that the doctor went on to criticize the English-speaking skills of 15 of his patients. Many immigrants who have lived in Britain for a long period still struggle with the language. Governance in Britain is utterly scared of upsetting the Muslim population. That is probably what led to this decision against Dr. Wolverson.
