Newly qualified GP suspended after caught ‘speeding up’ video visits

A newly-minted GP has been suspended after she was caught editing videos of her visits to make them appear shorter than they actually were.

Dr Mahjabeen Asim, 45, used video editing software to “speed up” the footage of her consultations and shorten it to 12 minutes.

Dr Asim, who studied medicine in Pakistan and moved to the UK in 2010, was required to record sessions for GP training at her practice in West Sussex.

When the examiner checked the recording, he noticed that the clock on the wall showed the time as 12:34 – even though her recording “officially” ended at 11:50.

Newly qualified GP suspended after video visits edited Getty

After raising the alarm, Dr Asim, who has failed her GP exam twice, was questioned about the matter. She claimed she was afraid of failing her grade and was so stressed she considered resigning.

The 45-year-old, who was training at Victoria Road Surgery in Worthing, was later reported to the General Medical Council and faced prosecution.

The tribunal found Dr Asim, of Streatham, south London, to have committed serious professional misconduct and banned him from treating patients for two months.

Investigators found that of the 13 consultations recorded by Dr Asim, four were expedited.

The examination regulations stated that consultations should be recorded continuously during editing, and turning off the camera was not allowed.

The criteria also stipulated that visits should last no longer than 12 minutes. If a consultation exceeds that time limit, Dr. Asim will not receive credit for anything that happens afterward.

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Dr Asim submitted her recorded consultation in March 2023, but concerns arose when the examiner approached the professor in charge of the programme.

After finding irregularities in the video recordings, all 13 of Dr. Asim’s consultations were reviewed and it was suspected that four of them had been rushed.

During a subsequent meeting, Dr Asim told her senior colleagues that she was “shocked, surprised and unable to explain the discrepancy”.

She admitted to recording videos on her cellphone and then using an app to speed up the recording.

Dr Asim apologised for her actions and stated that there was “no excuse or justification for her behaviour”.

“Things at home were tough, but even though I felt under enormous pressure, I didn’t take any time off work or talk to anyone about the pressures I was facing,” she said.

“I failed the exam twice and was afraid that my next attempt would be the last and I would not get another extension to complete my training.”

Dr. Asim admitted to using a phone app to speed up recording

Getty

“I recorded all the consultations over a two-month period, which felt like a continuous study.

“I was worried that the consultations wouldn’t be complex enough to meet the criteria and that there would be technological issues with uploading the consultations, so I decided to use my mobile phone to record them.”

The presiding judge of the Medical Tribunal, which found Dr Asim guilty, said: “Dr Asim’s actions were intended to undermine the system of examination and admission to the register of GPs.”

“Her behaviour was planned and spread over several days to help her pass her professional exams.

“However, the tribunal noted that Dr Asim was going through a difficult period in her family life.

“It was also assumed that she was worried about passing the exam because she had failed it twice, and that she had not confided in anyone in detail about her difficult situation.

“Dr Asim is said to be more open with people now, has friends she can confide in, and actively monitors her stress levels.

“It was clear to the tribunal that Dr Asim was a respected doctor and those giving evidence considered her behaviour to be unusual.”