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A top neurosurgeon has been suspended after having sleeping with a vulnerable female patient and prescribing her addictive painkillers.

Dr Chirag Patel, who worked at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, UK, first operated on the woman – referred to as Patient A – to remove the damaged part of a disc in her spine, a tribunal heard.

Dr Patel was last month admitted to a s£xual relationship and sending the patient ‘explicit images’, as well as prescribing the vulnerable patient drugs, including the addictive muscle relaxant Diazepam.

The panel concluded the doctor had shown ‘a reckless disregard for patient safety’, continuing with prescriptions even after she had missed appointments and neglecting to tell her GP or even make a note in her records.

Ms Alabi added that by not breaking the relationship off, the surgeon had ‘put his personal interests – namely securing his career, reputation and family relationships – above Patient A’s proper care’.

Despite being told Dr Patel was the only surgeon in NHS Wales able to carry out certain surgeries for neuropathic pain, the panel handed him an eight-month suspension to ‘protect the public from the risks posed by [his] misconduct’.

Chair Mrs Alabi said the surgeon claimed he was ‘going through some marital difficulties’ at the time his relationship with the patient began.

The doctor said: ‘When I persisted in telling her that the relationship had to end, Patient A threatened to reveal our relationship to others, such as my employer and colleagues.

‘I was afraid if she did so, I could lose the job I so loved and had worked so hard to obtain. Given my speciality, this would have a knock-on effect on other patients if I was unable to work.

‘With the benefit of hindsight, I know I should nonetheless have ended the relationship and been honest with my employer. However, at the time I felt panicked and unable to break it off – a decision I now bitterly regret.’

The surgeon prescribed Patient A an opioid painkiller known as MST until January 2023, along with Diazepam.

He operated on her a third time the same year when he inserted a spinal cord stimulator, four years after the two initial surgeries.

The panel concluded the patient was ‘vulnerable’ and her repeated requests for painkillers may have been the result of addiction.

A voicemail left for the surgeon by the patient was played to the tribunal, demanding she ‘have that prescription’ and threatening to report him to police.

She went on: ‘Chirag, you had one chance, two chance, three chances, and more chances. You’re in the country doing your job, I don’t want to f* you over but my spine is f*ed, right?

‘I’ve given you chance after chance after chance. Do you know what? I could just write a book on you, okay?

‘You going to man up and meet me, or are you going to be a cowardly c***, like I think you are? You’re no God, love.’

In his evidence, Dr Patel claimed: ‘I would only see her under the threat of blackmail and to appease her.

‘Any romantic or friendly relationship had completely ended at this point, and our ongoing relationship was based purely on hostility and blackmail by her towards me.’

He went on: ‘Patient A had asked for £11,000 previously, which I did not have, so I instead offered to give her £5,000 from my savings.’

Dr Patel claimed to be ‘deeply remorseful’ for prescribing the medication while in the ‘personal relationship’.

He said: ‘It is no excuse that I did this under the threat of blackmail and exposure.’

The tribunal was told the complaint against Dr Patel arose when the patient was in ‘a period of psychosis’.

General Medical Council barrister Robin Kitching argued the surgeon should be struck off due to a risk of him repeating his behaviour.

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, has insisted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State withdrew from the party’s governorship primaries voluntarily.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Yilwatda noted that Fubara was neither disqualified nor forced out of the race.

According to him, Fubara duly purchased the party’s nomination forms, appeared before the screening committee and was cleared to contest before later deciding to step down ahead of the primaries, adding that the governor’s withdrawal was entirely a personal decision.

“He pulled out; he stepped down. It is personal to him. He bought the forms, came for screening, passed the screening, and we were waiting for the primaries before he opted to step down,” Yilwatda stated.

He equally debunked claims that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, influenced the process or played any role in Fubara’s withdrawal from the race.

Yilwatda maintained that the former Rivers governor was not even a member of the ruling party.

“Wike is not in our party. He is in the PDP,” he said.

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The Senator representing Taraba Central Senatorial District has saluted Muslims in Taraba and across Nigeria as they celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir, calling for special prayers to elevate Nigeria.

The immediate past Deputy Governor of Taraba State called for renewed alms giving to one another, especially the poor, the needy, and the less privileged in the society. This, he said, is a major tenet of Islam.

He urged Nigerians to remain selfless and sacrifice their lives, time, and resources to the worship of Allah (SWT) and humanity.

Senator Manu also advocated for peaceful coexistence across different religions during the festivities across Taraba and Nigeria.