British-Indian dentist alleged being 'bullied and harassed' by National Health Service before suicide

August 12, 2013

British-Indian_dentistLondon, Aug 12: A British Indian dentist from Yorkshire committed suicide after allegedly being "bullied and harassed" by the National Health Service which threatened disciplinary action against him over keeping of records at his clinic, an inquest heard.

Dr Anand Kamath, 42, was under investigation by the National Health Service (NHS) over record-keeping at Rothwell Dental Surgery, which he ran with his wife and fellow dentist Dr Rajni Prasad in the city of Leeds.

An inquest heard last week that the father of three felt "bullied and harassed" and took his own life after receiving a letter from the NHS warning him that he could be reported to the General Dental Council.

"They behaved like bullies and drove a loyal NHS servant over the edge. He just couldn't take the anxiety," his 42-year-old wife told the inquest.

"When the letter came, that was the final straw. He gave everything to the NHS. His reward for caring for thousands of patients no other practice would take was to be threatened with the most severe disciplinary action over administrative matters which we agreed straightaway needed improvement," she added.

According to Sunday Mirror, Dr Kamath and his wife had for 10 years treated only NHS patients in an area of Leeds where there were no other NHS government-backed dentists.

The couple had taken on 10,000 patients, four times that of the average practice, to help out patients who could not afford the high costs of private dentistry.

Their record-keeping suffered in the process and Rajni Prasad found her husband with his wrists cut at their home in Pudsey, near Leeds, in December last year.

The British Dental Association has called for an inquiry into the circumstances behind the suicide of Dr Kamath.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Wakefield coroner David Hinchliff said,"There had been a complaint and an investigation, not about his ability as a dentist, but in relation to recordkeeping which had put him and his wife under an intolerable strain."

"It seems he was in grave danger of being removed from the list of practitioners which would have ended his career. It appears all of this just became too much and he had taken action to end his own life," he said.

Hinchliff added that unreasonable pressure exerted on Dr Kamath by the trust "pushed a good man over the edge".

"We are happy that the investigation into Dr Kamath being undertaken was following National Clinical Assessment service advice. Safety and quality of service is our priority and so we will always investigate when complaints are received. This can be stressful for some but we try to work with providers to ensure the process runs smoothly," an NHS England spokesperson said.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

New Delhi, Jul 13: Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore or approximately US$10 billion into India over the next five to seven years through 'Google for India Digistation Fund'.

This move is significant as it comes in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and as multinational companies across the world look at alternative investment destinations.

"Excited to announce Google for India Digitisation Fund. Through it, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore or approx US$10 Billon into India over the next 5-7 yrs. We'll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships and operational infrastructure in ecosystem investments," said Pichai.

Pichai along with Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad virtually attended the sixth annual edition of Google for India.

"This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," said Pichai.
He added that the investments will focus on four areas important to India's digitisation.

Listing out the areas, Pichai elaborated, "First enabling affordable access and information to every Indian in their own language. Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India's unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on the digital transformation. Fourth, leveraging technology in AI for social good in areas like health, education and agriculture."

"When I was young, every piece of technology brought new opportunities to learn and grow but I always had to wait for it to arrive from some places. Today people in India no more have to wait for technology to come to you. A whole new generation of technologies is happening in India first," said Pichai.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Pichai and discussed a range of subjects like a new work culture in coronavirus times, data security and cyber safety.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Beijing, May 18: China has reported 25 new COVID-19 patients, the health authorities said on Monday, as 14 asymptomatic cases were detected in Wuhan, the first epicentre of the coronavirus where officials are doing mass testing of the city's entire 11 million population, taking the number of such cases in the city to 337, the highest in the country.

The death toll in China remained at 4,634 on Sunday with no new fatalities reported.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 asymptomatic cases on Sunday.

Jilin province where the government has implemented strict control measures in the last few days following reports of clusters of cases in Jilin city reported two cases on Sunday, while Shanghai city has reported one.

As of Sunday, the overall confirmed cases in China had reached 82,954, including 82 patients who are still being treated, and 78,238 people who have been discharged after recovery.

Also on Sunday, 18 new asymptomatic cases including two from abroad were reported in China, taking the total number under medical observation to 448, the NHC said.

Asymptomatic cases pose a problem as the patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

Wuhan which is undergoing mass testing of the city's entire over 11 million population to determine the prevalence of the virus has reported no new confirmed cases, but 14 new asymptomatic infections, taking the number of such cases in the city to 337, the highest in the country, according to the figures released by the local health commission on Sunday.

The death toll in Hubei province stood at 4,512, including 3,869 in Wuhan.

The province so far has reported 68,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,339 in Wuhan, according to the officials figures.

As the cases dropped, China on Sunday exempted people in Beijing from wearing masks, signalling that the virus is under control in the national capital.

As the virus is abating in the country, China is opening up all its business including entertainment centres like Shanghai Disneyl and to show that it has managed to control the dreaded virus while the world is struggling with it with lockdowns and massive casualties.

The novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan in December last year has claimed 315,185 lives and infected over 4.7 million people globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Paris, Jun 29: More than half a million people have been killed by the novel coronavirus, nearly two thirds of them in the United States and Europe, according to an news agency tally at 2200 GMT Sunday based on official sources.

The official death count for the disease now stands at 500,390 deaths from 10,099,576 cases recorded worldwide. The United States has suffered the highest death count (125,747), followed by Brazil (57,622) and the United Kingdom (43,550).

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.

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