A GP with responsibility for 2,500 patients at surgeries in Whitton, Twickenham and Strawberry Hill has been ordered to be struck off the medical register.

Dr Bodh Sagar Kanchan, 63, was found guilty of misconduct by the General Medical Council's professional conduct committee on Friday.

The doctor has been suspended with immediate effect to protect the public although he has 28 days to appeal.

Committee chairman Professor John Ward told Dr Kanchan that failure to meet basic standards undermined the trust placed in the medical profession. He said: "The facts found proved against you demonstrate that you have fallen well below those professional standards, particularly in your disregard for vulnerable patients both young and old."

Dr Kanchan correctly diagnosed that a 14-year-old boy - identified only as Antony X at the hearing - was suffering from viral hepatitis when his mother brought him to his surgery in Warren Road, Whitton, on June 3 1995. He denied ignoring requests from the boy's mother for home visits and failing to initiate adequate arrangements to ensure he received the right treatment. But the committee judged him "guilty of serious professional misconduct".

On June 5 Antony X's parents took him to the West Middlesex Hospital and by June 7 another GP took over his care and told them to get their son back to hospital.

Antony was admitted to St George's Hospital, Tooting, and then transferred to Kings College where he underwent two liver transplants and later a further liver and kidney transplant before dying on July 5 1996.

Dr Kanchan was also found guilty of similar lack of care in the case of an 85-year-old cancer victim in 1995.

Kingston and Richmond Health Authority have informed all his patients and made arrangements for cover.

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