GP forgot his medical bag

A GP forgot his medical bag when he made an emergency visit to a dying patient and then prescribed a potentially lethal combination of drugs, the General Medical Council was told yesterday.

Jane Sullivan, barrister to the council, told its Professional Conduct Committee that Dr Ashwini Kumar Singh prescribed the drugs without making a proper blood pressure test on 86-year-old Ada Tinsley, of Lee Green, south-east London, on 4 January 1993. The following day, she was taken to hospital where she died.

Ms Sullivan said: "The allegation is that the mixture of drugs . . . was potentially dangerous when there had been no proper test of Mrs Tinsley's blood pressure and he had made no proper attempts to monitor her progress."

Dr Singh, 46, of Deptford, south-east London, is also accused of failing to visit cancer victim George Barnes, of Lewisham, on several occasions in 1992. "In both cases we allege the doctor seriously disregarded his professional duties to his patients," said Ms Sullivan.

Professor James Barber, ofGlasgow University, told the committee that Dr Singh's treatment of Mrs Tinsley was "probably not as good as that of the average medical school student".

Dr Singh admits not taking his medical bag but denies the other charges.

The hearing continues today.