A GP from Weybridge believes she was suspended from practising as a doctor due to “not fitting the racial profile”, a tribunal heard.

Lucia Gibson, who was working at Walton Health Centre, was suspended in late 2007 after being subjected to, what she believes to be, racial discrimination for several years.

Appearing at the South London Tribunal Service, Dr Gibson, who is black and from Nigeria, said the Surrey NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) failed to investigate claims of racial discrimination.

Dr Gibson said: “I was suspended without any investigation. Normally if you are worried about someone you call them in. That never happened in my case.”

Dr Gibson qualified in 1983 and came to the UK in 1986 to work in obstetrics and gynaecology.

She joined the Rodney Road health centre in 2003 when it was a two-doctor practice, but her partner retired later that year, leaving her to run the practice single-handed.

Dr Gibson was first given a notice of suspension by the PCT on September 25, 2007, and her suspension was confirmed in November 2007 after two hearings.

Dr Gibson was also arrested prior to her suspension for fraud charges, but was acquitted in 2009.

Speaking at the tribunal, Dr Gibson said: “There were issues within the health centre. The relationship between individuals and the practice was dysfunctional.”

Representing the PCT, Benjamin Uduje said: “The reason for the problems within the centre was because of your race, is that correct?

"The staff undermine you because of your race and your colleagues also undermined you because of your race. That is your point in a nutshell.”

Dr Gibson answered yes.

She said she had always done well in the quality and outcomes framework (QOF), which assessed quality of GP services.

Dr Gibson said in her statement: “The respondent would not accept my good results and high scores.

"They considered the QOF to be a falsehood; my practice would need to be investigated. To my knowledge, the other three practices that scored maximum points were not investigated.”

The PCT removed Dr Gibson from their performers list, meaning she was no longer able to work as a doctor, and her final appeal against the removal was dismissed in 2012.

Dr Gibson believes the PCT’s decision to remove her from the performers list was just one of the instances where she was subjected to discrimination on the grounds of her race.

Dr Gibson said: “My perception is that I have been treated differently to the other doctors in the health centre.

"The incidents that have occurred have been aimed at ruining my career and forcing me out of a very white, English, Surrey-based practice. I did not fit the racial profile.”

In a statement read to the tribunal, Beverly Brough, who worked as a receptionist at the practice until 2012, said other staff at the health centre tried to put her off working with Dr Gibson.

Ms Brough said: “My gut feeling is that they didn’t like to work with the claimant because she is different, it’s a question of culture and race.

“There was always silly gossip circulated about the claimant. I remember that when the nurses moaned that the claimant was using them too much, they used to say ‘we don’t even think she is qualified’.

“I hated this gossip and said it was ridiculous. I don’t think they would have said the same thing about a white, British doctor.

“The health centre is very white and old-fashioned. The claimant is therefore very different and I believe this is why she was unpopular with some of the staff.”

Dr Gibson told the tribunal service she was not asking them to make a judgement whether to put her back of the performance list or not, but to acknowledge the PCT failed to investigate claims of racial discrimination.

The tribunal is due to continue until after the Easter weekend.