Fake doctor ‘stole’ the identity of British rheumatologist

A British rheumatologist, who may have trained with fake NSW doctor Shyam Acharya, has been tracked down.

The real Dr Sarang Chitale in Britain yesterday.

Australian and British health authorities are investigating whether fake NSW doctor Shyam Acharya stole the identity of a ­respected British based rheumatologist as the Australian government has launched another inquiry into how Acharya was given a visa and citizenship.

The fake medico worked as a junior doctor in four public hospitals in Sydney and the Central Coast for 11 years under the name Dr Sarang Chitale who registered with the NSW Medical Board in 2003, using the stolen identity he had used to gain entry to Australia.

The only identified Dr Sarang Chitale is a rheumatologist who practices at clinics in Britain’s ­National Health Service around the Wigan area in northern ­England, having previously practised in Wales.

He has contributed to various research projects in aged health for nearly 10 years.

When The Australian approached Dr Sarang Chitale during his regular clinic at Leigh Infirmary, just outside Liverpool, he said Australian authorities had been in touch with him about Acharya and said that the National Health Service (the NHS), was also investigating.

“I cannot comment,” he said. “You have to talk to the Australian Health Agency.” When The Australian asked Dr Chitale if he knew Acharya, he ­declined to look at a copy of Acharya’s fraudulently obtained Australian passport in his name and said cryptically, ‘‘I know, I ­cannot talk”.

It is unclear if Acharya did his medical training with Dr Chitale in India.

NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard said Acharya was very clever, having worked in India with another doctor, stealing his identity and a passport in that person’s name.

NSW Health deputy secretly Karen Crawshaw said Acharya ­allegedly stole the medical documents while living in India.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection is now investigating how Acharya was able to dupe immigration officials.

He was brought to Australia by NSW Health, who sponsored his visa, gave him junior doctor training and employed him on six-figure salaries at Manly, Hornsby, Wyong and Gosford hospitals.

Under the Australian Citizenship Act revocation can be considered in cases where a person has been found to have made a false statement or representation.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, whose office would not say when the suspect fled Australia, yesterday suggested the initial alleged fraud went undetected in 2003 because systems were more lax. “My view is that the Immigration Department back, you know 10, 15 years ago was a very different beast than what it is today,” Mr Dutton said.

“If this guy had of been a ­national security threat, as ­opposed to a threat just to patients or the health system, which is bad enough, then the consequences can be diabolical.”

At this stage, Acharya faces only a maximum fine from the AHPRA of $30,000 for impersonating a doctor and the administrative loss of his Australian passport and citizenship.

Neither NSW Health nor the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency would confirm the university at which the allegedly fake Dr Chitale claimed to have obtained his medical degrees.

His last year in the NSW health system, at Manly Hospital, ­appears to have been only part-time, as he also worked full-time in medical affairs for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. It was during this time his medical registration lapsed and there are suggestions he would not have met new requirements.

It was only when the allegedly fake Dr Chitale worked with medical research company Novotech that suspicions were raised about his qualifications. He had sought to reinvent himself as a medical expert, starting a communications business and briefly joining the Australian Medical Association.

The AHPRA investigation allegedly prompted Acharya to flee Australia, having obtained Australian citizenship and an Australian passport under his assumed name in 2013. The Australian Federal Police and NSW police yesterday said they were not investigating.