Doctor who wrote fake letters to pretend he had indemnity insurance 'showed no remorse' and tried to have hearing held in private

Dr Jonathan Bundy was punished after a panel of experts ruled he had been dishonest over a "long period of time" and his actions, which amounted to serious misconduct, would be "considered deplorable by his fellow practitioners".

Chairman of the panel, Claire Sharp, said: "The tribunal also found that Dr Bundy has demonstrated very little insight into his actions.

"For example, the tribunal noted that there was no evidence that Dr Bundy has apologised for actions to those affected, or truly appreciated the damage his actions have caused to Field Road, the organisations, the wider medical profession, or, potentially, the public."

Dr Bundy, who qualified from the University of Sheffield in 1991, was a partner and GP at the Field Road Practice in Doncaster and also worked as an out-of-hours GP for FCMS (NW), formerly Fylde Coast Medical Services, and PDS Medical Ltd.

All doctors must have adequate and appropriate insurance in place, which covers accidents and other possible medical blunders and allows compensation to be paid to affected patients, when they work in the UK.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) ruled he worked at Field Road without insurance from November 2014 to September 2017, and at FCMS and PDS from October 2015 to September 2017.

He knew he was meant to have it and knowingly submitted two fake letters pretending to be from MDU Services, a bona fide indemnity insurance supplier, in July 2015 and again the next July, MPTS documents seen by The Gazette said.

Dr Bundy tried to have the hearing held entirely in private with the outcome kept confidential, citing an issue that was redacted.

Although he was largely unsuccessful, swathes of the meeting which related to the unknown issue were held behind closed doors.

The panel, which cannot prevent outcomes being made public, was told Dr Bundy had been dealing with family bereavements and "challenging personal circumstances", had financial pressures, and had taken on a heavy, demanding workload.

"Despite his workload, there were never any concerns about his clinical skills," papers said.

But Mrs Smith concluded: "The tribunal determined that, having found Dr Bundy to have acted dishonestly, breached fundamental tenets of the medical profession and undermined the public confidence in the profession, erasing Dr Bundy's name from the medical register was the most appropriate sanction in this case.

"It determined that this sanction would protect patients, maintain standards, and uphold confidence in the medical profession."

FCMS, based in Vicarage Lane, Marton, which began running the Blackpool Victoria Hospital's Urgent Care Centre a decade ago, was awarded the contract to run Doncaster's Urgent Care Centre in 2015, its website said.

It said Dr Bundy had never worked for the firm on the Fylde coast or in Lancashire.

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