Doctor faked prescriptions to give growth hormones to son so he wouldn't be bullied

A doctor who faked prescriptions for growth hormones for her son even though his height was 'normal' faces being struck off today.

Dr Rehab Al Jumaily, 51, who is just 5ft tall, feared her 13-year-old would be bullied if he ended up as short as the rest of his family.

But the 5ft 2in youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been the subject of only one reported bullying incident at school.

The teenager was six inches over the normal threshold for hormone treatment and half an inch above the average height for his age.

Al Jumaily, a partner in a West Hull surgery, used fake names to write prescriptions for the drug Genetropin which she then injected into her son.

She admitted three charges of deception at Hull Crown Court last year and was fined £22,500.

Al Jumaily was also ordered to pay costs of £1,200 and meet a £3037 confiscation order - or serve three months jail in default.

She is appearing before the General Medical Council who will decide if her fitness to practice is impaired by reason of her conviction.

The doctor could be struck off, suspended or cautioned if the GMC find her actions amount to misconduct.  

The court hearing was told Jumaily and her husband were both short and their 16-year-old daughter had stopped growing at the age of 11 when she reached 4ft 10in.

Al Jumaily, then a GP at the Marmaduke Health Centre in Hull, had noticed her son's growth slowing too.

She was able to obtain Genetropin worth £3,037 but in November 2006 a pharmacist reported his concerns to the NHS fraud unit as the drug is usually only given out by consultants.  

Fraud investigators quickly discovered that the patients on the prescription forms did not exist.

The GP, of Dunswell, near Hull, initially made no comment when arrested by police.

But later she told officers her son 'was small for his age and had been bullied at school'.

The GP has a previous conviction for failure to stop after an accident caused by her careless driving.  

After her court hearing last year Det Sgt Kevin Foster, of Humberside Police, said: 'This woman was a well paid GP who used her position and influence to commit crimes. 

'She has breached the trust put into her as a professional person and behaved in the most dishonest way. She is now paying a high price for her crimes.' 

The GMC are due to decide if she should be allowed to continue in the profession.   The hearing continues.