Witnesses say they saw a drink driving Nottingham doctor force another vehicle to take evasive action while he was behind the wheel. That's according to a document from the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service (MPTS), which determines a medical professional's fitness to practice based on allegations of misconduct.
Dr Goel originally claimed to the General Medical Council (GMC, an online list of doctors registered to practice in the UK) he was chewing a betel nut and was not already drunk when buying spirits from a shop. But at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on January 3 2020, after pleading guilty to a charge of drink driving, he was banned from driving for three years.
Dr Goel, of Derwent Close, Gamston at the time of the sentencing, was found to be three times over the drink limit. He admitted to driving with 99 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 64 over the limit, and was also ordered to do 120 hours of community work.
READ MORE: Drink driving Nottingham doctor who blamed betel nut for smell of booze is suspended
In this case, the MPTS determined that Dr Goel's fitness to practice is impaired because of misconduct and his conviction, and then decided to suspend Dr Goel from the register for three months. Details of what witnesses saw have emerged in a recent MPTS document shared after the decision was reached.
The MPTS document states: "He was almost three times over the legal limit; he had appeared intoxicated enough that a shopkeeper felt the need to call the police after observing him. Two witnesses described him as "incredibly drunk" and "spaced out".
"One of the witnesses also described how after he got into the car he "started his vehicle up and reversed it, nearly colliding straight into a vehicle. This vehicle had to speed up dramatically to prevent a collision with male 1 [Dr Goel]."
Dr Goel qualified with a medicine and surgery degree from Allahabad in India in 1992, and obtained a Masters in orthopaedic surgery in 1997. He came to the UK in 2001, and had his first post as a locum consultant at King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, since working predominantly as a locum consultant at a number of locations.
In the document, Michael Rawlinson, instructed by Medical Protection, made submissions on behalf of Dr Goel during the proceedings, including that misconduct would be accepted, but "to impose a period of suspension would be a retrograde step given that these events occurred nearly three years ago with no repetition". Charles Garside, who made submissions on behalf of the GMC, said: "Dr Goel's actions were serious enough that the imposition of conditions would be insufficient to uphold the overarching objective, particularly given that there were conditions in place, in the form of agreed undertakings, at the time of the events."
The tribunal determined that action should be taken after considering all submissions, and decided on whether conditions, suspension or complete erasure would be appropriate. It decided suspension would be the best action because "of the need to recognise the serious nature of Dr Goel's conviction, bearing in mind the aggravating factors it had found, and of his dishonesty".
A review hearing will take place to reassess the sanctions.
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