SHAMEFUL:
Nigerian born 80 year old British Doctor, ISYAKA MAMMAN arrested for Manslaughter, Prescription Fraud in Manchester…after he pierced patient’s heart with hypodermic needle
* Patient died in his hands during a routine hospital procedure
*Questioned by detectives over allegations of gross negligence after 48-year old Shahida Varven collapsed whilst giving a sample of her bone marrow
*Refused bail conditions as he begged court to fly to Nigeria to attend his granddaughter’s wedding
*earlier suspended from medical practise for 12 months after giving a total of five different dates of birth with regulators
BY TIM IBADE/SPECIAL CRIME CORRESPONDENT, MANCHESTER & GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICAN Foreign Bureau Chief
HE’S A NIGERIAN BORN NATURALIZED BRITISH CITIZEN, TRAINED MEDICAL DOCTOR IN BRITAIN. DR ISYAKA MAMMAN, AN 80 YEAR OLD MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL HAS ENDED HIS CAREER IN DISREPUTE AND SHAME, AS HE IS BEING PROSECUTED FOR MANSLAUGHTER AND PRESCRIPTION FRAUD in Manchester, Britain.
Reports indicate that this NHS doctor was arrested after a patient died during a routine hospital procedure. Mamman was questioned by detectives few months ago 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.
The investigation emerged as Mamman 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 court heard that officers 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. 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.
The court also heard that Mamman had previously been summoned before the General Medical Council in 2005 where he was suspended from medical practise 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.
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 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 haemotology 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. ‘As for police bail, he has reported when required and has assisted police when interviewed answering all of their questions. Dr Mamman insists there was no negligence on his part and his actions did not contribute to the death of this woman. ‘He has continually helped and assisted police in interviews. In interviews, police have not put any allegation to him. He was simply asked his account of what happened on the dates in question.
‘In summary, Dr Mamman is a professional person. He has been a doctor for a substantial period of time. He is a member of the local community. He has a wife and three children in this country. One of his children lives at home with him. Dr Mamman has lived at that same address for 9 years. He is cooperating fully with this investigation as he wants to clear his name.’
At his disciplinary hearing in 2005, the GMC was told Mamman who attended University College Ibadan, in Nigeria enrolled at the University of London in September 1958 to study for a degree in medicine under their ‘Scheme of Special Relation’ with university colleges overseas. At the time he said his date of birth was September 16 1936 and he graduated in April 1964.
When he first applied for GMC registration he gave the same date of birth but later altered it September 16 1941 and later October 16 1947.
He worked at hospitals in Peterborough and Gillingham but regulators began investigating when he was appointed by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust as Trust Staff Grade Doctor in haematology. He gave colleagues a Nigerian passport showing his date of birth as September 16 1941 but with ‘manuscript amendments’ showing a birthdate from 16 August 1941 to 16 October 1947.
He also produced a UK passport gave his date of birth as September 16 1947 and even provided another legal document from his uncle showing his date of birth as October 16 1947. Inquiries revealed he had also given October 16 1944 as his date of birth when he worked in Peterborough. At his disciplinary hearing Mamman claimed the inconsistencies in his birthdays were down to the fact there no system for the registration of births and deaths in Nigeria.
He claimed a ‘western cultural trait’ of treating dates of birth as important was ‘not part of his initial upbringing’ said said he had since tried to establish the correct date. Dr Isyaka Mamman said the first recorded date of birth of September 16 1936 was one assigned to him by the Nigerian authorities when he was student.
He said his ‘official date of birth’ as decreed by the High Court of Justice in Nigeria was October 16 1947 which would made him just ten years old when he enrolled at London University. He said documented dates of birth were as a result of human error on the part of the passport authorities in Nigeria and the UK and denied altering his age to improve his chances of getting a job in the UK.
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