Doctor's premit to park at Southampton hospital up for sale

Dr Katharine White claimed a senior colleague at Southampton General Hospital made a sexual advance in exchange for “looking more favourably” on the case, the hearing was told.

Dr White, a foundation year doctor, put her free permit to park at the General up for sale for £5 on the website Gumtree, the Fitness to Practise Panel of the General Medical Council (GMC) was told.

Apology It was spotted by NHS fraud investigators and she later apologised, claiming she did not realise the pass was NHS property and it was done out of “naivety not dishonesty”.

But privately educated Dr White, from Salcot Road, Winchester, is also accused of misconduct by making false allegations after she was called to a meeting with a senior male colleague to discuss the parking permit.

During the meeting, on October 14, 2008, Dr White alleged she was firstly warned what she had done was fraud and she could get the sack by her employers, the Southampton Univer-sity Hospital NHS Trust.

But the more senior colleague is then alleged to have gone on to say: “I can ensure that the Trust looks on your case more favourably” and put his hand on her knee before adding: “What will you do for me?”

Dr White repeated the allegation to other Trust staff, claiming her colleague’s actions were “immoral, impure and corrupt”.

Brian McCluggage, counsel for the GMC, told the hearing in Manchester the member of staff involved denied the incident and the allegation was a “defence mechanism” to counteract her difficulty over the parking permit.

Dr White is charged by the GMC with making untrue and dishonest allegations about the meeting.

The doctor, who is in her 20s and qualified after completing her medical degree at the University of London in 2007, is not present or legally represented at the hearing. Finally, Dr White is accused of failing to attend an examination by a psychiatrist as requested by the GMC.

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.