The Guardian reports that a German doctor on his first session of providing out-of-hours cover for British GPs administered a lethal dose to a patient (ten times the maximum recommended painkiller dose). He was too tired to concentrate.

Ubani, in a letter of apology to Gray’s family written last July, said the “fatal mistake” derived from a confusion between drugs, one of which was not used by on-call services in Germany, and the “tremendous stress” he had been under, having only had about three hours rest before he started his shift.

One imagines that such incidents are waiting to happen under the present health services. Many German doctors have been reported as seeking work in the UK.

The case has also sparked a row over how Germany responded to a UK request to extradite the doctor. Last month Ubani was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence there for the UK incident and fined €5,000 (£4,450) for causing death by negligence. He is continuing to practise in Witten, Germany, although he has been suspended from working in the UK by the General Medical Council’s interim orders panel.

LATER NOTE: The Süddeutsche Zeitung has an article on the subject too.

Der Fall wirft die Frage nach einer strengeren Überwachung der unabhängigen Krankendienste auf, die abends und am Wochenende Ärzte an Patienten vermitteln. Peter Walsh, Geschäftsführer der Organisation “Action against Medical Accidents” forderte den NHS auf, alle Firmen dieser Art zu überprüfen, mit denen Verträge bestehen. Walshs Gruppe setzt sich für die Opfer von Behandlungsfehlern ein.

Die Qualitätskommission des britischen Gesundheitsamtes erklärte, dass bei ihr schon mehrfach Beschwerden über den Dienst eingegangen seien, die den Deutschen vermittelt hatte. Deshalb werde sie den Fall gründlich untersuchen und notwendige Konsequenzen daraus ziehen, sagte eine Sprecherin dem Guardian.