A DOCTOR working at Bury General Hospital disappeared with huge doses of a powerful addictive painkiller he had demanded from a hospital pharmacy, a disciplinary hearing was told yesterday (Mon Nov 26).

A nurse joked that Dr Sumit Mukherjee (34), must own shares in the company which made the diamorphine drug because of the quantities he was billing to the NHS.

Following complaints, the General Medical Council suspended the doctor for six months pending disciplinary proceedings, but this did not stop him going on to work at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, as a clinical assistant last year.

Dr Mukherjee has denied allegations of prescribing excessively, unnecessarily and irresponsibly when he worked at the Bury hospital, and also denied claims that the diamorphine was never administered to its intended patient. Mr Ian Stern, representing the Council, told its professional conduct committee that Dr Mukherjee, who earned a reputation as a "poor bleeper responder" among nurses, insisted on over-prescribing the injectable-only drug to five different patients between February and April 1999.

There were seven separate over-prescribing incidents and the Council claim that on four of these, there is proof that diamorphine was never administered. However, there is no evidence that the doctor injected himself or sold or gave the drugs away.

Patient Cyril Barnes (64), was rushed to Bury General Hospital on February 10, 1999, with breathlessness and kidney disease, and nine days later was prescribed 10mgs of diamorphine.

"This amount was excessive for a man with a chronic history of lung disease," Mr Stern told the central London hearing. "No-one else was giving this patient diamorphine."

An identical quantity of the drug was again prescribed on March 7, with Dr Mukherjee insisting that he injected the patient himself, but the Council claim the drug was never administered.

On February 28, Mary Garrett (77), was taken to the emergency department with breathlessness and was prescribed 10mgs of diamorphine, despite nursing concerns that she was a slim and frail lady.

"The doctor defended the dose and a nurse questioned it again:10mgs is an excessive dose and should not have been given at this time," said Mr Stern. A diamorphine expert later insisted that the proper dose was as low as 2.5mgs.

Dr Mukherjee was employed as a senior house officer in general/geriatric medicine by Bury Healthcare NHS Trust, beginning work at the hospital on February 3, 1999, following a transfer from Fairfield General Hospital.

It is further alleged by the Council that the doctor failed to attend a cardiac arrest emergency call at Fairfield General Hospital on July 17, 1999 while he was the on-call doctor, and on July 6, 2000, accepted employment at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford while his registration was suspended.

The Council's case is expected to end today (Nov 27). The hearing continues.