July 26, 2022 6.30 am This story is over 20 months old

Lincoln doctor says hospital trust “ignored my emotions” over ‘racist’ dismissal

He said he always knew justice would prevail

A respected Lincoln doctor who was unfairly sacked by a Lincolnshire hospital trust after a ‘racist’ investigation said “they ignored my emotions, they ignored my words – they undervalued me”.

Professor Tanweer Ahmed, a leading voice in Lincoln’s ethnic communities, was hounded out of his job by “laughable” allegations of bullying, an employment tribunal found. It was found that the hospital’s disciplinary procedure was mishandled at almost every stage, putting the doctor through years of stress.

The former Clinical Director at United Lincolnshire Health Trust (ULHT) turned to his Islamic faith for strength and prayed to his god that he would win the case. The tribunal found that he had been the victim of racial discrimination, unfair dismissal and victimisation.

Professor Ahmed told BBC Look North that it had a “huge impact” on him and he couldn’t go out for a long time because he was “so depressed”. He added that he had to sell his family home in order to pay the legal fee.

The NHS trust denied that race played a factor in the dismissal, but Professor Ahmed wants to see an independent investigation into discrimination.

A spokesperson for the ULHT previously said: “We have received the judgement of the employment tribunal panel, and are taking time to fully consider it and any learning we might take.

“As an organisation, we take a zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory behaviour of any kind. We have recently launched a new organisational strategy and campaign which demonstrates just how seriously we take this issue on behalf of our staff and patients.”

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Lincoln doctor’s four years of hell after unfair ‘racist’ dismissal