GP who stole more than £1million of NHS money to fund ‘desperate’ addiction to online gambling is struck off

A SENIOR GP who stole more than £1million of NHS money to fund his “desperate” addiction to online gambling has been struck off.

Dr Rumi Chhapia tried to hit the jackpot on slot machines and roulette.

Dr Rumi Chhapia, of Southsea — jailed for 40 months at the city’s crown court last year — has now been struck off by a Medical Practitioners TribunalSolent

When colleagues in Portsmouth, Hants, grew suspicious he claimed that his accounts had been hackedSolent

The 45-year-old — who earned nearly £200,000 a year — began his fraud after being put in charge of the accounts of a group of 16 surgeries.

He embezzled £1.13million over 41 days in 2020.

When colleagues in Portsmouth, Hants, grew suspicious he claimed that his accounts had been hacked.

Chhapia, of Southsea — jailed for 40 months at the city’s crown court last year — has now been struck off by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.

 Gambling firms were understood to have ag­reed to pay back £904,000 after Chhapia wrote grovelling letters to them.

He gambled away a total of £2.5 million, of which he recouped £1.2 million.

The funds were stolen while the NHS was struggling to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic.

Medical Practitioners Tribunal Chair Ian Comfort said: “Dr Chhapia placed patients at risk of harm and breached a fundamental tenet of the profession by taking funds that were necessary for patient care.

“The Tribunal took into account that this was not a single incident of fraud, but 64 separate transactions over 41 days, totalling a significant amount of money.”