A VETERAN East Lancashire eye consultant, who was caught undertaking operations while banned, has been told by a watchdog that he is still not safe to return to unrestricted practice.

Arthur Nylander, who worked for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) for nearly 20 years, latterly as a consultant ophthalmologist, was suspended by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) last year.

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He had been prevented from carrying out clinical work following an assessment at ELHT in February 2013, after first being restricted to outpatient and laser clinics two years earlier.

But Mr Nylander, first employed at the trust in 1996, was found to have undertaken operations at Cumberland Infirmary and the Grampian Trust in Aberdeenshire, for the medical agency Medinet, the tribunal heard.

The consultant, who was dismissed by ELHT in 2014, had insisted he was not aware that working for Medinet qualified as private practice.

Six charges alleging he had failed to discuss the pros and cons of eye operations with patients were found proved by a MPTS conduct and competence panel in July 2015. Mr Nylander attended a review hearing in Manchester, to argue that he should be allowed to return to frontline practice.

He produced a number of clinical certificates, completed as part of his professional development profile between November 2014 and the present day, and told how he he had been mentored by an experienced ophthalmologist, Mr Chitkara.

But Shirlie Duckworth, for the MPTS, said that from studying the consultant’s submissions, it appeared he did not accept his behaviour had been misleading and, on occasion, dishonest.

Panel chairman Claire Sharp said: “The tribunal is not satisfied that you have fully appreciated the gravity of your actions. It considers you have developed a theoretical knowledge of what insight should be, but need more time to refine this insight further.

“Your insight has not fully developed at this time, but the tribunal is hopeful that given more challenging mentoring or workshops designed for you to explore in more detail your failings and remediation, you are capable of developing sufficient insight.”

The tribunal will meet again on March 11 to determine what sanctions to take against Mr Nylander and his suspension was extended by six weeks.