Dr Keith Wolverson says he will quit profession after being investigated for asking patient to lift her niqab

Dr Wolverson said he no longer wants to continue his career
PA
Jacob Jarvis20 May 2019

A doctor who is facing an inquiry for asking a Muslim woman to remove her veil so he could hear her during a consultation has said he no longer has any interest in working in the profession.

Dr Keith Wolverson, a GP who has been in medicine for 23 years, said he was "deeply upset" at being accused of racial discrimination over the incident.

The situation arose last year when he asked a woman to lift her niqab, a face covering garment worn by some Muslim women, which he claims he did politely and was so he could communicate with her better while trying to diagnose the woman's daughter.

However, last week he received a letter from the General Medical Council telling him his conduct was under investigation.

He has since told The Mail on Sunday: “I absolutely no longer want to be a doctor.”

Dr Wolverson said his “quest to perform the very finest consultation for the safety of the patient has been misinterpreted in a duplicitous manner to suggest there has been an act of racism committed”.

“I feel a major injustice has taken place,” he added. “This is why you are waiting so long to see your GP and doctors are leaving in droves. This country will have no doctors left if we continue to treat them in this manner. I’m deeply upset.”

He said the woman was speaking to him about her daughter, who she feared had tonsillitis, and he asked her to move the veil so he could hear her more clearly.

He claims she did so with no complaint during the consultation at Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent last June.

However, he said the woman's husband arrived later and said he would be making a complaint.

A spokesman for the Doctors' Association UK told the Mail on Sunday: "It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected.

"However, evidently there are some circumstances where removeal of a niqab or burka is necessary for medical assessment and treatment.

"The GMC should consider issuing clear guidelines to protect both doctors and our patients."

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