Croydoc doctor set to avoid prosecution (From Croydon Guardian)
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Croydon doctor accused of pocketing £100k to avoid charges
9:56am Wednesday 20th June 2012 in Local news By Nick Hitchens
Croydoc doctor Ravi Sondhi, left, is set to avoid prosecution
A doctor accused of ignoring patients needing urgent treatment and pocketing £100,000 of NHS funds is set to escape prosecution.
Dr Ravi Sondhi is alleged to have abused the Croydoc service, which provided out of hours health provision to nearly a million patients in south west London, by pocketing £100,000.
In a report published by South West London NHS Trust in January Dr Sondhi, who had homes in Purley and Norfolk, was accused of taking the cash as well as failing to respond to thousands of emergency calls.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed there is insufficient evidence to charge the doctor and NHS legal advisers have warned a civil prosecution would be unlikely to succeed.
A statement from NHS South West London said: "We have been advised taking further steps to recuperate any funds or prove any loss or fraud against the NHS would have an extremely low likelihood of success and would be likely to require a high level of resource at significant further cost to the NHS."
Croydoc was closed as a company and the out-of-hours service Patient Care 24 took over providing the service.
