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Indian-origin doctor suspended for misconduct in the UK
The decision of the tribunal was based on the testimony of a patient treated by the doctor and multiple witnesses.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 09, Jul 2025
- 02:50 EDT
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Dr. Premila Thampi studied at the University of Madras before moving to the UK. / Top Doctor website
Indian-origin doctor, Premila Thampi, was handed a three-week suspension by The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MTPS) after finding her guilty of misconduct while practicing as a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Thampi was found to have coerced a patient into an instrumental delivery, ignoring her caesarean-section preference, and failed to discuss alternatives.
During the course of the hearing, which started on Sept.13, 2024, and continued till March 2025, Dr. Thampi's fitness to practice was determined to be impaired due to misconduct by the tribunal.
The General Medical Council (GMC) had previously referred Dr. Thampi’s case to a Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing due to concerns about her professional conduct after preliminary investigation on complaints received from three former patients of the doctor.
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It was alleged by the GMC that, "Dr Thampi failed to provide good clinical care to Patients A, B and C (named so to ensure anonymity), in respect of the delivery of their babies," as per the report by the MPTS. However, claims made in the case of Patient B and C were not proven due to insufficient evidence.
In her statement to the tribunal, Patient A made damning allegations against the now-suspended doctor and said, "During the process of having my legs put into the stirrups, I was saying 'I do not want the forceps to be used and I haven’t pushed yet'."
The incident occurred in October 2016, at Milton Keynes University Hospital. Witnesses reported that Dr. Thampi dismissed the patient’s request, proceeded with forceps, and emphasized her seniority to support her decision.
Claiming that the doctor looked down upon her protests, the victim continued, "Miss Thampi then said something I will never forgot for the rest of my days - 'what you need to understand and appreciate is that I am a Consultant, and it is after six o’clock and I could have gone home and left one of my Registrar’s to delivery this baby!'
She continued, "I felt Miss Thampi was pressuring me into something I did not want by implying that if I didn’t agree I would be left to receive a substandard level of care."
As per the tribunal's report, Dr. Thampi denied coercive behavior and claimed she acted in the best interests of her patients. However, she acknowledged that she could have communicated better and has since modified her practice.
The tribunal noted that not finding Dr. Thampi guilty "would undermine the public interest”.
The tribunal justified its decision and said that it was "necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession, and to promote and maintain proper professional standards and conduct for members of the profession."
A former student of the University of Madras in India, she worked in obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics during her time practising as a doctor in India and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in obstetrics and gynaecology. Dr Thampi moved to the UK in 1991 and became a Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in 1996.
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