Doctor who lied about a demotion and failing life support course is struck off the medical register

Published: 14:49 EDT, 1 October 2026 | Updated: 14:51 EDT, 1 October 2026 A doctor has been struck off the medical register after a tribunal found she lied about being demoted following concerns about her ability to do her job. Dr Surrayya Najeeb, who worked as a locum consultant at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals from June 2021 to February 2023, also did not tell bosses at her next job at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn, Norfolk, that she had failed a cardiovascular life support course. Dr Najeeb worked at QEH from March 2023 to February 2024, leaving after a meeting with the hospital's medical director in which she denied her change of role and any concerns about her work in Blackpool.Staff had raised concerns about her ability to work and bosses in Blackpool told her they had concerns about her conduct as a consultant before she was moved to a registrar role.But when she later applied to become a consultant at QEH, she did not admit her demotion or tell the hospital about the concerns over her ability.The panel also found she acted dishonestly when she failed an advanced cardiovascular life support course two days before her QEH interview and did not tell the hospital management.In a report the medical practitioners tribunal found her dishonesty had been 'persistent' and 'premeditated'.A General Medical Council performance assessment from August 2024 raised serious concerns about her abilities, finding her assessment of patients and clinical management 'unacceptable' and ruling her relationships with patients and ability to work with colleagues a cause for concern. Dr Surrayya Najeeb was found to pose a high risk to patients after she lied about being demoted and did not tell her new employer that she had failed a life support courseDr Najeeb, who qualified as a doctor in Pakistan in 1985, did not attend the tribunal and was not represented.According to the tribunal report, she failed to recognise important clinical clues and did not follow the emergency assessment process in one case involving an acutely unwell patient, potentially putting their life at risk.In a 2022 meeting at Blackpool, she was given examples of her substandard conduct by hospital management, one of which was an occasion where she wanted a 'full MRI spine' scan done of a patient who complained of back pain in their 'last days of life' before moving to a hospice.And in response to a pregnant woman feared to have a pulmonary embolism, Dr Najeeb investigated her for sinusitis and wanted an X-ray done of her sinuses.She was told: 'Quite often you request a lot of tests… that the patient doesn't need.'Dr Najeeb was found to pose a high risk to patient safety and the tribunal found her fitness to practise was impaired by both misconduct and 'deficient professional performance'.The panel concluded there was a high risk Dr Najeeb could repeat her mistakes given she showed no meaningful insight into her actions and provided no evidence of resolving her shortcomings.Allowing her to remain on the medical register would be 'high risk to public protection' and would 'seriously undermine patient safety'.