An NHS doctor in his 80s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and prescription fraud after a patient died during a routine hospital procedure.
Dr Isyaka Mamman was questioned by detectives last month over allegations of gross negligence after 48-year old Shahida Varven collapsed whilst giving a sample of her bone marrow.
Police are investigating whether a hypodermic needle the haematologist used pierced soft tissue around Mrs Varven’s heart and not the breastbone as it should have done.
She died shortly after the procedure began despite attempts to revive her.
Officers also found various prescription medication-only medication in different names at the doctor’s home in Royton, near Oldham, Greater Manchester plus legal documents belonging to him showing various dates of birth.
It emerged Mamman had previously been summoned before the General Medical Council in 2005 where he was suspended from medical practice for 12 months after giving a total of five different dates of birth with regulators concluding he gave decreasing birthdates to improve his chances of getting jobs in the NHS.
When he applied for registration as a doctor in the UK in 1964 he submitted a document giving his date of birth as September 1936.
According to the GMC Mamman attended a university in London in 1958 and qualified in 1964. Ages he has given on his passport plus to the GMC have ranged from 71 to 82. In 2001 he used one of the dates of birth to get British citizenship.
Mamman who denies wrongdoing is currently on bail pending further inquiries and has not been charged with any offence.
The investigation emerged as he went to a court to ask for a change in his bail conditions so he could fly to Nigeria for his granddaughter’s wedding. The request was refused.
The tragedy occurred on September 3 last year after Mrs Varven was admitted to an unnamed hospital for a consultation with Dr Mamman about having a sample of bone marrow taken.
The doctor who has worked for the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust at the haematology unit for 14 years was intending to take a sample from Mrs Vaven’s hip but the procedure was unsuccessful due to the patient’s build so he took a sample from her sternum.
Initially, it was thought the process was successful and a sample was taken but a short time later Mrs Varven collapsed. She temporarily regained consciousness after Dr Mamman and other staff tried to revive her but she collapsed again and died shortly afterwards.
NHS investigators carried out an internal probe before passing the matter onto police and Dr Mamman was suspended on November 23.
He was arrested on March 15 and interviewed but released on bail with conditions to live and sleep at his home address and that he should not practice medicine. He was also told to report to Oldham Police Station each Monday between 10-2.
At Tameside magistrates court where Mamman’s date of birth was not given, defence lawyer Asif Akram said:
“As far as this is concerned he is on police bail and he has not been charged with any offence. He has been a professional doctor for over 25 years. He’s worked at the hospital he’s currently employed by for 14 years.
“Dr Mamman is a professional person, a doctor for a significant period of time. In 2005, Dr Mamman was suspended for 12 months following an investigation by the General Medical Council.
‘His recorded date of birth was different when he applied to a different position within the NHS. Dr Mamman’s explanation for this is that in Nigeria there is no proper system for documenting when an individual is born. What authorities rely on in Nigeria is a document made by parents or guardians. This incident is in no way related to the issue you must decide on today.
