Indian-origin woman worked as dentist with fake degree

LONDON - An Indian-origin woman in Britain worked as a dentist for nine years without having any formal qualifications, a media report said.

Vinisha Sharma, 37, earned around 230,000 pounds from dentistry work and she managed to pull the wool over her employers’ eyes at National Health Service (NHS) hospitals for nine years before her fraud was found out.

Daily Mail reported that Sharma used a fake degree certificate to register with the General Dental Council (GDC). She was employed by seven different hospitals.

Her fraud came to light after a colleague, Patrick Magennis, raised concerns about her skills and knowledge of the job in 2008. Magennis had also raised a complaint about her fitness to practise in 2003.

Sharma claimed she had a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree in India. She said she had studied BDS at the Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Amritsar. The institute has no record of her ever attending or graduating.

Her Mercedes even sported the personalised number plate letters BDS.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told that from February 2000 to February 2009 she was employed by seven NHS hospitals. She examined patients, carried out minor surgical procedures and dealt with trauma alongside senior consultants.

Sharma, of West Midlands, was charged after an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.

Sharma had tried to gain full registration with the GDC in 2007.

It was turned down as she didn’t appear to have the requisite knowledge and skill for full registration as a dentist.

She, however, managed to carry on working due to her temporary registration. Her role included operating on people under supervision.