Ex-Army doctor Keilloh struck off

Former Army doctor Derek Keilloh has been struck off the medical register
21 December 2012

A former Army doctor's career lay in ruins after he was struck off the medical register over the death of Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa.

Dr Derek Keilloh, 38, a respected family GP, was left "extremely disappointed" by the decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), at the conclusion of a marathon 47-day hearing in Manchester.

The father of two did "everything possible" to save Mr Mousa's life - but then claimed not to have seen evidence of the severe beating he took at the hands of fellow soldiers.

Mr Mousa's father, Colonel Daoud Mousa, said: "I wanted the doctor to be banned for life. He did not have humanity in his heart when he was supposed to be caring for my son. He did not do his job properly."

Now a popular and "conscientious" family doctor, Dr Keilloh was the medic in charge who supervised a failed resuscitation attempt on Mr Mousa, who had been hooded, handcuffed and severely beaten by soldiers after his arrest as a suspected insurgent in war-torn Basra in September 2003.

Dr Keilloh, then a captain and regimental medical officer of the 1st Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR), claimed later that he saw only dried blood around the nose of Mr Mousa, 26, while giving mouth-to-mouth and CPR. His body swollen and bruised, Mr Mousa, a father of two, had suffered 93 separate injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose.

An innocent hotel receptionist, he was arrested in an Army crackdown by soldiers who believed, wrongly, that he was an insurgent involved in the murder of four of their colleagues the month before.

The MPTS found Dr Keilloh guilty of misconduct following Mr Mousa's death and announced "with regret" the only "appropriate sanction" was banning him from working as a doctor. An online petition and support from patients and fellow doctors now working with Dr Keilloh failed to save his job, despite him being described in glowing terms.

Dr Alderman, chair of the MPTS panel, said this was an "unfortunate case" and Dr Keilloh had been described as an excellent doctor but an "unambiguous signal" must be sent out about "conduct unbefitting a doctor".

Dr Keilloh, who qualified in medicine at the University of Aberdeen, has 28 days to appeal against the decision in the High Court to save his career.

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