Misconduct claims against leading IVF doctor dismissed

Disciplinary proceedings against a leading IVF doctor, Mohamed Taranissi, collapsed after the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that the allegations against him did not amount to misconduct.

A fitness-to-practise panel was investigating claims that Mr Taranissi failed to keep proper medical records, applied inappropriate pressure on one patient and was insensitive with another. The first patient, identified as IK, alleged she was pushed into accepting tests and treatment she did not want. But the panel found there was insufficient evidence to show Mr Taranissi's behaviour amounted to "inappropriate pressure". It also found there was not enough evidence to suggest she was not properly informed about treatment for infertility with an unlicensed drug.

The second patient, known as CG, alleged Mr Taranissi did not investigate her vomiting and swollen wrists when she was at his clinic for fertility treatment. Shortly after leaving the clinic on 11 August 2004, she suffered two seizures and was admitted to intensive care. She was suffering from hyponatraemia, a rare condition in which sodium levels in the blood fall to dangerously low levels. Her husband said that, when he phoned Mr Taranissi, he was defensive, insensitive and showed a lack of compassion. But the panel found Mr Taranissi could not have been expected to diagnose the rare condition, and it said a defensive attitude was to be expected.

The chairman of the panel, Dr Harvey Markovitch, said: "Although the panel concluded that on the evidence... there was sufficient evidence to find that Mr Taranissi failed to keep a note of one consultation, and this conduct was capable of falling below the standard expected of a registered medical practitioner, it was incapable of amounting to misconduct. The panel concluded that, in those circumstances, it would not be aided by hearing further evidence and determined that the case be concluded at this point."

Mr Taranissi, who runs the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre , in London, denied all of the allegations.

The GMC's decision comes after a High Court ruling earlier this month in which the BBC was ordered to pay Mr Taranissi an estimated £500,000 in costs as part of his continuing libel action over a Panorama programme. Mr Taranissi claims the January 2007 broadcast, "IVF Undercover", damaged his reputation by making defamatory allegations about his techniques. The case is due to be heard in January. After the GMC ruling, Mr Taranissi said: "I'm obviously very pleased and I just want to go back to what I do best, which is hopefully looking after patients and helping them have treatment."

In a later statement, he said: "None of this has been of my choosing but I have been put in a situation where I have had to defend myself against inaccurate allegations. I have never gone out of my way to pick fights but I felt that I would be letting down my staff and the patients who believe in me if I did not fight the various false allegations about me. This is not just about me – it's about all those people who have seen something special in what we are doing here."

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