GP caught faking appointments to do school run banned from treating patients

The part-time locum GP had already spoken with both patients by telephone earlier on July 17, 2024, meaning the face-to-face bookings were unnecessary.

Dr Eisenhauer was scheduled to complete her duties at 4.45pm and needed to reach her children's after-school club before 6pm.

By filling the final appointment slots with fictitious bookings, she prevented colleagues from adding genuine last-minute consultations to her schedule.

Her scheme unravelled when a partner at the practice spotted irregularities in her booking arrangements and summoned her to a meeting.

Investigations revealed Dr Eisenhauer had not only created the phantom appointments but had also blocked her diary during late afternoon hours to prevent other patients being scheduled.

Two days after the incident, she entered false notes into the practice records documenting the fabricated consultation with one of the patients.

When initially confronted, the GP denied any wrongdoing and maintained she had simply confused which patients she had seen.

She later referred herself to the General Medical Council and confessed to dishonesty, telling the regulator she had been struggling to "juggle her work and parental responsibilities".

The mother of two, who earns approximately £60,000 annually, had joined the practice in 2018.

Dr Eisenhauer attributed her conduct to strain caused by sleep deprivation stemming from her parenting duties, telling the tribunal her judgment had been impaired during this period.

Dr Eisenhauer expressed "deep regret" at her actions, stating: "I feel that I have let the profession and myself down."

The GP acknowledged the incident occurred during a particularly stressful time when she was balancing family demands with professional commitments.

She added : "I am thoroughly ashamed and am determined to never compromise the medical profession or myself again."

Under cross-examination, however, Dr Eisenhauer conceded there was nothing exceptional about that particular working day and accepted hers had been a "predictable challenge that many professionals face".

Her barrister, Ranald Davidson, told the hearing she risked losing her childcare provision if she failed to collect her children on time, adding: "She has demonstrated insight and remediation, and no clinical concerns have been raised in this case.

"Dr Eisenhauer’s conduct will not be repeated as she now has better organisation of her working life and childcare."

The GMC’s Katie Jones said: "Dr Eisenhauer engaged in acts of dishonesty which demonstrated a reckless disregard for patient safety.

"She undermined a system designed to protect the public and undermined collaborative working as she repeatedly lied to colleagues.’"

Chairman of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service Neil Dalton said: ‘"Across this course of conduct, Dr Eisenhauer displayed a reckless disregard both for patient safety and for professional standards.

"By such actions she undermined collaborative working, betraying the trust her colleagues needed to be able to place in her probity, as they worked side-by-side with her on a daily basis."

Dr Eisenhauer was suspended for five months after she admitted misconduct charges.

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