Indian-Origin Doctor In UK Suspended For Forcing Mother To Have Baby Using Forceps

1. Indian-Origin Doctor In UK Suspended For Forcing Mother To Have Baby Using Forceps

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• Indian-origin gynaecologist Premila Thampi was suspended for serious professional misconduct in the UK
• She pressured a patient into forceps delivery despite the patient's request for a caesarean section
• The patient suffered trauma and injuries to her baby's head and face from the forceps delivery

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An Indian-origin consultant gynaecologist in the UK has been suspended after she was found guilty of serious professional misconduct. The 62-year-old allegedly pressured a first-time mother into a forceps delivery against her will.

Premila Thampi, from Mitcham in South London, allegedly bullied the patient - who requested a caesarean section - into accepting forceps-assisted delivery at Milton Keynes University Hospital in October 2016.

The woman, 41 weeks pregnant and suffering from a neuromuscular condition, later reportedly said she was feeling traumatised by the experience and said the forceps caused injuries to her baby's head and face.

During the encounter, Ms Thampi allegedly made it clear that she was the senior, implying she could have left the delivery to a junior doctor instead of staying beyond her shift.

Testimony at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in Manchester said that she ignored the patient's repeated objections to forceps, saying, "You are putting your own baby at risk." "You need to let me do this, as I don't know what is going to happen to your baby."

The patient eventually gave in to the forceps delivery but reportedly shouted at the doctor, "I hate you, you haven't listened," as the instrument was used.

"She just marched into the room to ask me if I was ready for an instrumental delivery and then marched back out again. Dr Thampi didn't explain what an instrumental delivery would involve, or what the instruments to be used were... I verbalised to Dr Thampi that I was against the use of forceps," the woman told a British tabloid.

The MPTS ruled that Ms Thampi committed serious professional misconduct, citing her failure to obtain informed consent, her pressure on the patient, and her inappropriate communication. It suspended her from medical practice for three weeks.

Tribunal chair Tehniat Watson called the misconduct serious, citing lack of consent, patient pressure, and poor communication, and said the "action is needed to mark the seriousness to uphold the wider public interest."

In her defence, Ms Thampi argued the patient raised objections to the use of forceps only when it was already too late, from a clinical standpoint, to safely proceed with a caesarean section.