Doctor banned for 12 months for lying on her CV

A Wokingham-based doctor has been banned from the medical profession for 12 months for lying on her CV. Dr Monica Barron 44, claimed on her CV that she was working as a GP between April 2012 and March 2015 at the medical practice MRK Medical Services, in Wokingham. It was later found by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) that she was actually on maternity leave and doing ad-hoc work for MRK Medical Services which was a company set up with her husband. The Ad-hoc work was limited to “giving advice, and she was not prescribing any medication” so therefore was not carrying out any “ordinary” GP services, as claimed on her CV.

When applying for a job with a pharmaceutical company in 2018, her CV gave the impression that she had been working as an established GP at MRK Medical Services and this resulted in her being successful in her application. Dr Barron worked for the pharmaceutical company for almost two years as a clinical research physician. The General Medical Council (GMC) investigated Dr Barron following concerns being raised about her CV by a senior researcher she worked with in 2019.

The tribunal found that Dr Barron, who qualified in Romania in 2002, had been “dishonest” in her job application for the pharmaceutical company and that her claim to have operated as a GP at MRK was untrue. The tribunal’s report stated that:

“She had breached a fundamental tenet of the profession and brought the profession into disrepute…The Tribunal also considered that presenting untruthful information about qualifications, experience and/or employment history in CVs or job application forms represented a general risk to patients.”

In a letter written to the tribunal on Dr Barron’s behalf, it was stated:

“Dr Barron accepts fully that the impression given in the CV was of a more established role as a general practitioner and that she should have been clearer about its limited scope, and also the periods of maternity leave and the parallel work in Romania during the period…Dr Barron is cognisant of the impression her CV gave that her role was that of an established private GP. Dr Barron regrets the confusion that has been caused as a result of the fact she was working between Romania and the UK over the time period in question.”

Dr Barron resigned in January 2020 furthermore relinquishing her license in September 2021.

Dealing with CV fraud after employment has commenced?

The HR Director gives advice on their website as to what employers should do if they believe that current employees may have lied on their CV:

“Where the employee has already started their employment and is later discovered to have lied during the interview process, this can constitute a breach of trust and confidence that is necessary for an employment relationship to exist. As with most HR matters, it is necessary to follow a full and thorough investigation into the matter before deciding on an outcome though.”

The process of investigation relies upon the employer having kept a full paper trail documenting each and every stage of that employee’s recruitment in order to evidence any decision to cease employment –detailed records of interview questions, interview responses, CVs, application forms and offer letters will be required.

Investigation, evidencing and in some instances ultimately terminating an employment contract as a result, is a very serious and complex business, therefore it is always recommended that pre-employment checks are carried out where possible, to verify facts claimed on CVs before an offer of employment is made.