A LEADING Midlands doctor dealing with family planning, contraception and sexual health in the Redditch and Bromsgrove areas who lost her job after making whistle blowing complaints has failed to be reinstated.

Doctor Poornima Prabhu applied at Birmingham Employment Tribunal to be reinstated with the Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust pending the outcome of her legal claim for unfair dismissal.

She made the application for her job back under a rarely used “interim relief” clause.
Her legal claim for unfair dismissal against the trust, following the whistle blowing public disclosures, has yet to be decided and Dr Prabhu told tribunal judge John Horne that she thought it fair she should be reinstated in the meantime.

Her work covered Redditch and Bromsgrove areas under the trust’s Clinical Commissioning Group.

Dr Prabhu who was based at Worcester and who provided training, made her whistle blowing disclosures at a tribunal hearing several months ago.

Dr Prabhu who is also an associate specialist and lead clinician, alleged that certain services were not being run appropriately because some staff did not have the knowledge and expertise they should have.

She said she had complained to the General Medical Council about the situation and had faced detriment by the trust as a result.

Dr Prabhu who had been on sick leave at one stage, complained she had not been given the "appropriate amount of input to run the service adequately".

Dr Prabhu said at the latest hearing that she had been unfairly restricted in her work after making the disclosures and accused one doctor of "improper management".

The trust successfully opposed Dr Prabhu’s application at the latest hearing and said there had been a breakdown of relationships and trust.

She had denied an accusation of making the disclosures because of self interest

Mr Horne said Dr Prabhu had failed to persuade him to make a decision in her favour and, as a result, her interim relief application had failed.

He said he was not convinced that the alleged public disclosures had been made in good faith and accepted the trust’s evidence that Dr Prabhu had refused to accept the working restrictions.

Mr Horne also pointed out that it had been decided that there had been no risk involved following her complaint to the GMC.