THE suspension by the General Medical Council (GMC) of an East Lancashire GP pending an investigation into matters relating to him has been reaffirmed by the GMC's Interim Orders Panel.

Tanuku Venkata Suryanarayana, of Bradyll Court, Brockhall Village, Blackburn, will now remain suspended until September 30 this year.

Announcing its decision, the panel said it had "reviewed the case of Dr Suryanarayana and determined that the order for suspension imposed on his registration on March 8 2005 should remain in place until 30 September 2006."

No details of the circumstances leading to imposition of the ban are given in the decision, which has just been published.

However, a spokesman for the GMC said cases such as this are referred to the Interim Orders Panel when a doctor is facing allegations of such a nature that it may be necessary for the protection of members of the public, or otherwise be in the public interest or in the interests of the doctor, for the doctor's registration to be restricted whilst the allegations are resolved. The spokesman said that considerations taken into account included preserving public trust in the medical profession and maintaining good standards of conduct and performance.