An Oxford-educated junior doctor has been banned from treating patients after he was caught moonlighting at a private cosmetic surgery clinic whilst pocketing paid sickness leave from his £35,000-a-year NHS job.

Dr Daniel Coventry, 33, was supposed to be off work at the taxpayer’s expense with a suspected virus, but instead he was offering facial fillers, thread facelifts, and anti-wrinkle injections at a privately run clinic in Brighton.

Coventry was reported to bosses at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex, after concerns were raised due to the amount of sick leave he was taking. 

In 2019, a probe was launched and investigators found social media posts showing he had undertaken private aesthetic work at A New You and his own medical practice DC Aesthetics.

Coventry claimed he hadn’t had time to read the NHS policies on sick leave and said he thought there was ‘no conflict of interest’ in doing private work whilst off sick and ‘not rostered’ to work NHS shifts.

He subsequently left his FY2 job before officials were able to give him a final written warning and he was reported to the General Medical Council.

Coventry was suspended from medical practice for six months after he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal Service, in December 2019. 

The moonlighting occurred over a six-month period between April and October 2018 just a year after Coventry joined the Western Sussex NHS Trust. 

In the run-up to the ban he had been working full time in the private sector at the ‘A New You’ clinic in Brighton – where facelifts cost up to £8,000 and tummy tucks cost up to £6,000. 

A consultant surgeon had explained the HR procedures to Coventry and he was advised to access the hospital’s ‘StaffNet’ website to read the Trust’s policies regarding sick leave. 

In its determination, Tribunal chairman Samantha Gray said: ‘Dr Coventry chose not to read the policies despite being pointed in the right direction by the Trust. 

‘The Tribunal also considered there was an element of deception as Dr Coventry did not tell the management of A New You, or any of his private clients, that he had been off sick from work.’

Ms Gray added: ‘The Tribunal took into consideration Mr Coventry’s submission that there had been no financial gain in this case. The Tribunal did not accept this. 

‘Dr Coventry would have been paid for his sick leave from the public purse whilst also being paid for private work.

‘Furthermore, the NHS Trust may have had to fund further staffing to cover Dr Coventry’s absence. This further highlights that there is a way to go before Dr Coventry understands the consequences of his actions.’

Coventry was represented by his own father, Stuart, during the Manchester hearing. 

Stuart Coventry said: ‘Dr Coventry was initially clear in his mind that he did not know he was not permitted to work whilst on paid sick leave and he presented evidence to make his point.

‘Instead of the week-long induction most FY2 students received at the Trust, Dr Coventry received an informal HR induction and it was implied that he should find things out for himself. This was not sufficient and Dr Coventry was therefore ignorant of policies. In addition, Dr Coventry’s initial educational supervisor was unable to fulfil her role due to sickness.

‘But he now understands he should have taken steps to know the Trust’s policies. He accepts it was his responsibility to read the policies as instructed and, had he done so, he could have asked any questions of an appropriate person regarding the meaning and application of the sickness policies. He accepts his previous behaviours were against policy and he apologised for this in full.’

Mr Coventry added: ‘At the time of the events, Dr Coventry had the mindset of a newly qualified FY2 doctor and was naïve and inexperienced. He also wishes to emphasise there was no intention of deceiving or defrauding his employer or causing them any loss.

‘He did not take sick leave specifically in order to undertake private work and he did not make any financial net gain. Had he been knowingly dishonest, he would not have posted about his work on social media. There was zero financial benefit to Dr Coventry.

‘Notwithstanding that, Dr Coventry accepts his actions had contravened Trust policy. He understands and accepts his naivety and errors of judgement, has apologised and learned the lessons from the events of 2018. There were no clinical concerns in this case, and there was never a risk of harm to the public or patients.’

Counsel for the GMC Chloe Fairley told the tribunal: ‘Whilst this is not a case in which patients were at unwarranted risk of harm, there are questions to be asked in relation to the reputation of the medical profession.

‘This was not a single isolated omission or error of judgement that could be quickly rectified, rather the misconduct involved repeated occasions of dishonest conduct over a period of six months, during which Dr Coventry had had a number of opportunities where he could have been honest. However, Dr Coventry has put his own personal and financial interests ahead of his duties to the Trust.’

Ms Fairley added: ‘At present, there is no real insight demonstrated by Dr Coventry and he is yet to take responsibility for his actions. Members of the public are entitled to place complete reliance upon a doctor’s honesty, and the relationship between the profession and the public is based on the expectation that doctors will act with integrity at all times.

‘Any insight that had appeared to be present at the Trust investigation in December 2019, when Dr Coventry stated that he accepted the investigation’s findings, has been undermined by his evidence during this hearing, when he stated that he had said those things merely for the sake of “moving things on”. This was a case involving deliberate deceit within a professional context.’  

Coventry studied medicine at Oxford after graduating with a first class degree in Biology at the university of Brighton.

The NHS is ‘not sufficiently resilient’ to look after patients this winter, a top doctor has warned.

Dr Adrian Boyle, Royal College of Emergency Medicine president, fears the health service could face a similar situation to last winter, described as one of the worst on record.

His comments come as Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay met with health leaders and charities in Downing Street to discuss how to keep the NHS running smoothly.

Doctors expect an influx of Covid cases, flu and other respiratory illnesses over the coming months.

Dr Boyle, who attended the meeting at No 10, said: ‘We remain concerned about how we’re going to be able to look after our patients this winter.

‘We still have far too many patients spending too long, waiting to be admitted into hospital. This will inevitably cause problems with ambulance handovers and also the problems with people being looked after in corridors last winter.

‘(Last winter) was extremely difficult and in terms of objective measures, it was the worst we ever saw.’

Asked if the NHS could see a repeat this winter, he said: ‘It is certainly a possibility. We still think our system is fragile and not sufficiently resilient to avoid a similar situation next winter.’

Dr Boyle said he would call for urgent action to tackle the numbers waiting for more than 12 hours in A&E. The figure in England was 23,934 in July, down 10 per cent from 26,531 in June. It hit a record 54,573 in December 2022.

The RCEM is calling for more to be done to vaccinate frontline health workers against flu and Covid.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister said: ‘This year we started planning for winter earlier than before. We invested in more beds, ambulances and discharge lounges through our Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan, and we’re freeing up 15 million GP appointments through our Primary Care Recovery Plan.

‘To drive forward that progress, today we’re bringing together the best minds in healthcare who all have one shared aim – protecting patients and making sure they get the care they need this winter.’

Mr Barclay added: ‘Winter is always an extremely busy period and we’re working across the NHS to make services more resilient, ensuring those who most need help and support will get the care they need.

‘I’m working closely with NHS and social care leaders to provide additional hospital capacity, protect emergency care and harness the full potential of technology to deliver the best possible service and intensify our efforts to tackle waiting lists.’

Earlier this year, NHS England announced plans for cash incentives for hospitals who ‘over-achieve’ on performance measures such as waiting times.

It also announced plans to introduce social care ‘traffic control centres’ to help speed up hospital discharges so patients could be shipped out of hospitals when they no longer needed to be there.

Other plans include having more ambulances on the road, extra beds in hospitals and ramping up the use of ‘acute respiratory hubs’.

Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHS England’s national director of urgent and emergency care, said: ‘The forthcoming winter will be another challenging one for health and social care, which is why teams across the NHS have been planning for this busy period since the start of summer, including getting more ambulances on the road and putting more hospital and virtual ward beds in place.’

Around three-quarters of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es in July. The figure hit a record low of 65 per cent in December.

The NHS recovery plan has set a target of March 2024 for 76 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

Meanwhile, a record 7.6 million people are waiting for treatment in England.

Mechanics, plumbers, electricians and carpenters often learn their trade on the job. But now a new profession is being added to the list of apprenticeship training schemes: doctor.

So how would you feel if the doctor treating you in hospital or at your GP surgery hadn’t undergone the traditional training of up to six years at medical school (plus another five years to be a GP, or longer for a hospital consultant)?

Are they second-class doctors — or actually better equipped to do the job, as some experts now suggest?

This new apprentice scheme is part of a raft of measures to address the shortage of NHS doctors and create a sustainable future workforce.

Currently, half of new doctors are recruited from abroad as the UK supply route has struggled to keep up with demand.

Meanwhile, the number of home-grown medical students a year is only around 7,500 in England, which has left the country lagging behind other developed countries in terms of doctors per head of population.

One proposal to get doctors into the NHS faster is to reduce medical degrees from five years to four.

Another approach is to employ more physician and anaesthesia ‘associates’. Unlike fully qualified doctors, physician associates do only two years of postgraduate training (generally after a bioscience degree) before they have direct contact with patients. (Anaesthesia associates also do a two-year postgraduate course.)

Physician associates, who are under the supervision of a doctor, generally work in GP surgeries or in A&E, and are permitted to do a range of tasks including diagnosing illnesses, analysing test results and, in some cases, they’re able to provide medication. Anaesthesia associates can give anaesthesia under consultants’ supervision.

The Government is planning greater use of physician associates — with 10,000 on the payroll by 2036/37, up from 3,000 now.

But concerns have been raised about this new medical role after actress Emily Chesterton, 30, died from a blood clot on the lung last October after a physician associate dismissed it as anxiety — Emily thought she had seen a GP.

Her symptoms — calf pain and shortness of breath — should have suggested a pulmonary embolism (a lung clot) and meant she was sent to A&E, a decision which a coroner ruled would probably have saved her life.

She’d been seen twice by the same physician associate at a GP practice in North London, who told her to take anti-anxiety pills which she’d previously been prescribed. 

Her father Brendan said after the inquest in July: ‘We are concerned patients are seeing physician associates and not realising they are not doctors, like Emily.’

Separately, yesterday it was reported that the Royal College of Anaesthetists is being pressed by doctors to halt its support of the anaesthesia associate scheme.

The Doctors’ Association UK, a campaigning group, is concerned titles such as physician associate ‘create misleading impressions for patients, potentially conflating the distinct professional roles of physician associates and doctors’.

It has also said it is ‘not safe’ for the Government to use ‘any alternative healthcare provider as replacements for fully trained doctors’. 

So will the Medical Doctor Apprenticeship scheme provide an acceptable solution to the workforce crisis? Under the scheme, the next generation of doctors will learn how to be a fully-qualified medic without going to university full-time.

They will need the same A-level grades in the same subjects as are needed to get a university place, but they will then study and ‘earn while they learn’; starting paid work on the wards or in GP practices immediately, and learning as they go along.

‘The main difference between the Medical Doctor Apprenticeship and a traditional medical degree is apprentices will work in healthcare from the beginning of their degree while also studying the academic subjects of the medical degree,’ says Elizabeth Hughes, medical director for Undergraduate Medicine at NHS England.

‘They’ll spend most of their time with their employer, which could be a hospital or in general practice. And they’ll work safely under supervision at an appropriate level that is suitable to their stage of training.’

Up to 2,000 prospective doctors a year will be able to train this way in England by 2031/32. The first 200 will begin their five-year apprenticeship programme as part of a pilot scheme next year. 

According to NHS England, it will allow the NHS to ‘draw on the widest pool of talent’ — attracting people traditionally put off medicine by the cost of going to medical school for five years.

This typically leaves them £50,000 to £90,000 in debt.

Apprentices’ tuition fees will be paid by the Government and they’ll also receive a salary from their employer.

‘The aim is to recruit students from varying backgrounds, who may have struggled to pursue a traditional medical degree education, so that future generations of health professionals more closely mirror the population they serve,’ NHS England said last year, when the idea was first suggested.

‘Apprenticeships may also appeal to people who might have gained experience in clinical roles and be ready to start training as a doctor at a later stage in their career.’

Encouraging people from different socio-economic backgrounds to become doctors is universally accepted as a good thing. ‘Medical schools have tried to be inclusive, and some are better at it than others,’ says Barry Paraskeva, a consultant surgeon at Imperial College NHS Trust in London, who helps design teaching for medical students.

But some may see an apprenticeship as the easier option, he says. ‘The training to be a doctor is rigorous. It requires high A-level grades, pre-medical school tests, sometimes a pre-medical degree and a structured interview.

‘Why would you do all that if you can go on the medical apprenticeship scheme?’

Dr Martin Scurr, a retired GP and Good Health columnist, agrees: ‘Is this a way of opening a backdoor for people who academically didn’t get the right grades and can be brought in on the grounds that they will be trained as apprentices?

‘Medicine is a huge course — none of it is very difficult but it is like doing 45 O-levels all at once.

‘In other words, there is an awful lot of it to be crammed into five years, even on the traditional medical school course, never mind working at the same time.’

Concerns are also being raised about how the doctor apprenticeship scheme will work in practice.

Despite being officially announced by NHS England last July, details of the scheme still remain sketchy and the start date for the pilot scheme has already been put back a year, from this month to 2024. 

It is also not clear what kind of work they will do, how much they will be paid and who will monitor them.

Nor do we know what proportion of their time will be spent working compared with studying. And how does ‘study’ work if you’re on the wards? And who will train and supervise these students? Another unanswered question.

Queen Mary University of London is one of the medical schools known to be taking part in the scheme. But when Good Health contacted it for more details, we were told: ‘It’s still not something we can speak about at this time.’

What we do know is that at the end of the scheme apprentices will have to take the same exams as other medical students to join the medical register, run by the General Medical Council.

Clare Owen, assistant director of the Medical Schools Council, which represents the 46 medical schools in the UK, says: ‘The knowledge and outcomes needed will be exactly the same as for someone going through a traditional medical degree. How that balances out in practice between lecture-based and practical-based learning will be down to individual medical schools.’

Mr Paraskeva believes on-the-job experience is vital for training doctors. ‘When I was training, medical students were part of the team: we were on call, carried a bleep, took blood and saw patients. It was like an apprenticeship,’ he says.

‘Medical students now seem to be on the wards less than they were and that means they sometimes don’t want or feel comfortable putting themselves in situations where they are doing clinical work like taking blood.

‘If an apprenticeship reintroduces a more hands-on approach, it would be a good thing for doctors and patients. I would challenge medical schools to say why this is not happening anyway for students going down the more traditional route.’

Separately, will apprentices who graduate have the same career opportunities as their medical school peers?

Mr Paraskeva has his doubts: ‘If you want to be a surgeon or oncologist, would the apprentices be as equipped academically as someone who has gone down the traditional medical school route?

‘Or would they be disadvantaged because they don’t have the academic background?’

Dr Scurr fears the scheme could create a ‘second-class cadre of doctors’. ‘By definition, they will be the students who didn’t get into medical school. There will be positives but it’s going to be like the curate’s egg — it’s going to be good in parts — and that is a worry for the NHS and patients.’

Hollyoaks appeared on screens for the very first time nearly 30 years ago in 1995, and has gone on to launch the careers of a whole host of actors.

The soap opera launched on Channel 4 with just one episode a week and has gone on to have a hugely successful 28-year run.

However, it was announced this week that Channel 4 will stop airing individual Hollyoaks episodes for the first time, as they will be moved to sister channel E4. 

The move is part of a digital strategy to freshen up viewing experiences and the new schedule pattern will come into force on September 25.

The weekly omnibus will continue to be broadcast on Channel 4 as individual episodes go out on E4, marking a huge scheduling change for the soap opera.

As the show’s individual episodes are axed from Channel 4, MailOnline takes a look at where the original 1995 cast of Hollyoaks are now.

WILL MELLOR

Will Mellor first appeared on Hollyoaks when he was just 19 years old, starring as James Bolton – better known on the show as Jambo.

The actor, now 47, starred on the soap opera for three years before moving on to star in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps in 2001.

He has since carved out a hugely successful acting career, securing holes in soap operas Casualty and EastEnders, as well as starring in Broadchurch and Line Of Duty.

Will also joined Coronation Street in March 2021 as drugs gangster Harvey Gaskell and appeared on the ITV soap opera until December 2022.

He also achieved huge acclaim when he appeared on Strictly Come Dancing last year, where he was paired up with Nancy Xu.

Will won a huge fanbase as he repeatedly topped the leaderboard during the series, but narrowly missed out on a place in the final as he was the 11th star to go home.

Despite his huge success on Strictly, Will told at the time how he has no plans to do another reality TV show.

He told The Sun: ‘This is it for me. If you’re going to do one do the biggest one and I’m glad I’ve learnt a skill every week.

‘I couldn’t sit on a show just waiting to be voted out, I’d rather at least learn a skill and put my hand to something and really get my teeth into it.

‘I’m enjoying every minute of it and I don’t want to just be in a popularity competition, this will be it for me, I think.’

In his personal life, Will married his wife Michelle McSween back in 2007 and they have since welcomed two children together – son Jayden and daughter Renee.

NICK PICKARD

Nick Pickard is the only original Hollyoaks cast member to still hold a role on the soap opera.

He first portrayed Tony Hutchinson on the show’s debut episode in 1995 and has held down the role for an impressive 28 years.

He remains to be the longest-serving cast member on the show and in 2017, he won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Nick, now 48, has had a tumultuous time on the soap opera over the past three decades, with his character surviving near-death experiences and a serial killer, among other gripping storylines.

Nick previously told how he originally only signed up for 26 episodes on the soap opera, but ended up staying much longer than he’d planned. 

He told Digital Spy in 2013: ‘I really hope Hollyoaks goes on for as long as it can. I love the show and love the people more than anything – they’re like my family.’ 

Nick was in a relationship with his former Hollyoaks co-star Joanna Taylor, who played Geri Hudson, back in 2001, but they went their separate ways a year later.

Joanna went on to marry Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy in 2004, and they were married for 13 years until their split in 2017.

YASMIN BANNERMAN 

Yasmin Bannerman portrayed Maddie Parker, who ran local restaurant in the fictional Chester village.

She was a minor character on the show for two years until a gripping storyline saw her character’s ex Michael hold her hostage in 1997.

Yasmin, now 51, left the soap opera in 1997 and has gone on to star in TV show Cold Feet as well as hit films Maybe Baby and Killing Me Softly.

She also appeared as a regular on police drama Merseybeat and made an appearance on Doctor Who as Jabe in a one-off episode in 2005.

She went on to secure a role in spin-off show Torchwood as Kathy Swanson in the episode They Keep Killing Suzie, and continued working with the sci-fi series.

Since appearing in Casualty in 2009, Yasmin appears to have taken a step back from the spotlight and has no more acting credits.

JEREMY EDWARDS 

Jeremy Edwards portrayed Kurt Benson in Hollyoaks for three years until he left the Channel 4 drama in 1999.

He featured in many storylines in the soap including a turbulent love life as well as a toxic rivalry with notorious villain Rob Hawthorne, Warren Derosa. 

The character was accused of attempted murder for pushing Spike, Tom Vaughan, from scaffolding, but went on to marry his teenage love Ruth Osborne, played by Terri Dwyer. 

However he went on to have an affair with Katie Patrick, Natasha Symms, which forced Kurt and Ruth to separate and he left the soap on a motorbike in 1999.    

Kurt then tragically died in a jet-ski accident, but 20 years on, it was revealed that all was not as it seemed.

In 2020, Jeremy dropped the bombshell that Kurt hadn’t actually died as viewers had been led to believe but had actually been on the run for many years.

Later that year, his character Kurt made a dramatic return on his signature motorbike to the village after leaving the soap 21 years previously. 

Marking Hollyoaks 25th anniversary, his return left his friend Tony Hutchinson reeling in shock after believing he had died in the jet ski accident.

It was thought that it might lead to a more permanent return, as he was due to feature for up to a year, but Covid impacted filming and his comeback was only temporary. 

Elsewhere in his showbiz career, Jeremy competed on the ITV series The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 as part of a duo with Brendan Cole but was eliminated in the auditions stage.

He is also known for finishing fourth in the third series of Celebrity Big Brother and his role as Danny Shaughessy, a student nurse in Holby City. 

Jeremy was engaged to Rachel Stevens of S Club 7 in 2002 before breaking up the year after and eventually meeting his now wife Lydia Metz, who he married in 2009.

Last year, Jeremy told how he would be quitting the spotlight for good and lifted the lid on his reasons for leaving fame behind him earlier this month.

Jeremy decided to part ways with his acting agent and he now couldn’t be happier living a life out of the spotlight working as a drama teacher.

‘When Rishi Sunak was chancellor in lockdown he was saying that actor’s should look at other skills they could do. I agreed with him. I think that people don’t use their transferable skills enough,’ Jeremy told The Sun. 

‘During Covid the simple fact was there was no work and now there is an actor’s strike in America. There are so many reasons why you can be out of work and I thought, this is so unpredictable and I have a family. I thought I’ve got thirty years of experience here, what am I doing?’

Jeremy decided to teach drama at Film UK in Hampshire and has had parents sheepishly tell him he was on their wall when they were teens. 

Jeremy briefly dipped his toes into a career as a builder back in 2011 but went on to star in a few plays. 

But it was after an acting job where he got paid ‘pittance’ he decided to turn his back on showbusiness for good as he said it’s ‘dog eat dog’ and he ‘never enjoyed being famous’. 

The former soap star is now a father-of-two and happily married to wife Lydia Metz. 

SHEBAH RONAY 

Shebah Ronay portrayed Natasha Andersen when Hollyoaks came to screen in 1995 and she stayed on the soap opera for five months.

The actress, now 51, was the first Hollyoaks regular to be killed off when she suffered a drugs overdose after her drink was spiked with an ecstasy tablet at a party.

She had a brief acting career from 1989 until 1998, when she starred on the likes of Reunion and The Man Who Cried.

However, she then left her on-screen roles behind and instead concentrated on her work as a model, presenter and journalist.

Shebah is now married to artist Jonathan Yeo and the pair share two daughters together. 

She has proved an inspiration for his art career as he has painted her for two different works of art. 

BRETT O’BRIEN 

Brett O’Brien portrayed Louise Taylor on Hollyoaks, but her character’s appearance on the show was short-lived.

Louise was a free-loving character and was the best friend of Natasha Andersen and Dawn Cunningham, and she later claimed to see Natasha’s ghost after her death. 

She left the show when Louise fell in love with a ‘New Age’ traveller called Tree, and she left the village to be with him in May 1996. 

Since leaving the soap, the actress has featured in other shows including 2002’s Wire in the Blood, William and Mary in 2003 and Law And Order: UK.

In recent years, Brett has taken a step back from acting and has had no credits since 2009, and little is now known about her life away from the limelight. 

LISA WILLIAMSON  

Lisa Williamson arrived on Hollyoaks as Dawn Cunningham – the first member of the Cunningham family to appear on the soap opera.

Dawn was the main focus of a host of hard-hitting storylines, including an unwanted teenage pregnancy after having an affair with her best pal Ruth’s father Jack. 

Though Lisa only appeared on the show for two years, the Cunningham family have continued to dominate the main storylines on the soap opera.

One member of the family still on the show is Tom Cunningham – the son of Helen and Gordon Cunningham – who has been played by Ellis Hollins, 23, since 2003.

Since leaving Hollyoaks after appearing in 127 episodes, Lisa has also appeared in Dream Team and Siren’s Bay.

She has since moved away from the screen and is known for being a voice actor for commercial adverts, while she is also a published author.

Lisa has published a whole string of successful young adult books including The Art of Being Normal, All About Mia and Paper Avalanche. 

By Emily Joshu Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 15:03 EDT, 16 August 2023 | Updated: 15:03 EDT, 16 August 2023

A witness has described the scene of terror after discovering a British doctor shot dead in his car while on a family holiday in South Africa, leaving his horrified wife and young child cowering and covered in blood. 

Kar Hao Teoh, 40, was shot from close range after taking a wrong turn into the rioting town of Nyanga as he drove from Cape Town airport with his wife and two-year-old son last week.

Mr Teoh, who was born in Singapore but had British nationality, was one of five who died in violence during a taxi drivers’ strike, which spiralled out of control after local authorities began impounding rioters’ cars.

Community worker Dumisani Qwebe told The Sun how he stumbled upon the horror to discover Mr Teoh lying inside his hire car, a bullet lodged in his skull.

‘The doors were wide open so I could see inside. Both the windscreen and driver’s window were shattered by gunshots and the driver was slumped over on to the front passenger seat.

‘Multiple shots had been fired and it looked like one had hit him in the head.’

He went on to claim he saw Mr Teoh’s family cowering nearby, frozen by the trauma of seeing him gunned down in front of them.  

Mr Qwebe said: ‘I could see they were all very traumatised.

‘They were still shaking and the police were trying to calm them down. They didn’t look injured but there were spots of blood on their clothes.’

The victim, who lived in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, and was based at the NHS Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, was awarded a number of international fellowships for his work as a trauma and orthopaedic consultant.

Two years ago, Mr Teoh won the Presidential Prize at the European Foot and Ankle Society conference in Lyon for his research into the treatment of ankle fractures.

He also worked privately for MSK Doctors, and close friend and colleague Professor Paul Lee shared a moving tribute online.

Professor Lee said: ‘It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our esteemed colleague and dear friend, Mr Kar Teoh, a respected trauma and orthopaedic consultant who left us too soon on August 3, 2023.

‘Mr Teoh was more than a triple board certified specialist in trauma and foot and ankle surgery. He was a guiding light in our professional community, a devoted friend, and a cornerstone of many significant projects.

‘Kar’s commitment to medical excellence was recognised in several prestigious international travelling Fellowships (BOA, BOFAS, AO, SICOT, EFORT, IBRA), and he was an ardent proponent of research, and undergraduate and postgraduate education.

‘Yet, his professional accolades only paint part of the picture. For those of us privileged to call him a friend and colleague, Kar was a trustworthy and steadfast presence.

‘He was instrumental in the establishment and success of WelshBone in 2007, MSK Doctors in 2017, and the MSK Regen conference in 2023.

‘In each of these initiatives, Kar offered his unwavering support and played a critical role in their success. The loss of Mr Kar Teoh leaves a void in our hearts and our community. 

‘His professional dedication was unparalleled, but it was his personal warmth, his commitment to friendship, and his unwavering support that we will remember most fondly.

‘Our deepest condolences extend to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.’

Professor Lee added an email address had also been created for people to share memories, saying it was important for ‘future generations’ and ‘for Kar’s two-year-old son, ensuring he grows up with a vivid picture of the incredible person his father was’.

A Just Giving page set up in memory of Mr Teoh with a target of £50,000 has already raised more than £25,000.

His cousin Sancy Low, wrote on Facebook: ‘He had a great sense of humour and would have wanted things to be light and fuss-free.’

A police spokesman confirmed the British doctor had died after entering into a violent scene amid ongoing taxi strikes.

‘From the airport he apparently took a wrong turn-off and headed towards Nyanga. 

‘In Ntlangano Crescent a number of suspects approached his vehicle, shot and killed him. No arrests yet.’

Since last week, furious campaigners connected to the influential private taxi industry in South Africa have launched stones at cars and buses and and set some alight. 

It came after a new municipal law gave local authorities power to impound vehicles for driving without a licence or registration plates, and not wearing a seatbelt.

The national taxi union has said its members aren’t instigating the violence and others are using the strike as an excuse to launch their own protests, while tourists bosses fear the angry confrontations are discouraging holidaymakers from visiting the country.

The South African national taxi council called for action after it failed to reach an agreement with local government over the law.

A Foreign Office official in London confirmed they were supporting the family of a British man who had died in South Africa and advised Britons to be alert in the country.

Nyanga is one of the most dangerous places in South Africa, with 74 people murdered there every day.

Western Cape province, which includes Cape Town, has taken a tough stance on the unregulated minibus taxi industry known for bad driving and dangerous vehicles.

Millions of workers and schoolchildren have been forced to stay at home. Deliveries of food have been interrupted.

Geordin Hill-Lewis, Cape Town’s mayor, said he would stand firm against the sector.

‘In Cape Town, violence will never be tolerated as a negotiating tactic. We reiterate our call on SANTACO [the taxi union] to return peacefully to the negotiation table,’ he said.

British doctor is murdered in Cape Town after taking a wrong turn at airport and getting caught up in violent strike by cab drivers

• Tourist was with two family members when he drove into township of Nyanga
• Do you have more information? Email elena.salvoni@mailonline.co.uk

By Elena Salvoni

Published: 07:46 EDT, 9 August 2023 | Updated: 08:22 EDT, 9 August 2023

Model Bella Hadid revealed she has spent more than 100 days receiving intense treatment for Lyme disease after ‘worsening with time.’ 

Hadid, 26, was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, which is spread by ticks carrying bacteria and affects one in 10 people in North America. 

While it’s unclear exactly what her treatment entailed, Dr Lenore Brancato, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone, told DailyMail.com that it could involve a combination of pain management, medications, and holistic remedies.

‘Chronic [Lyme disease] often includes post-infectious musculoskeletal pain, cognitive difficulty and generalized debilitating fatigue,’ Dr Brancato said. 

‘It can be treated with antidepressants, pain management and holistic adjuncts like acupuncture, yoga, physical therapy and strengthening exercises and cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness meditation.’

Hadid took to social media to address her taking time off from modeling earlier this week.

‘The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself,’ Hadid wrote on Instagram.

‘Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain.’

‘To be sad and sick with the most blessing/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever.’ 

For many cases of Lyme disease, a short course of antibiotics is enough to cure it, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  

However, chronic cases, like Hadid’s, require more intensive treatment. Lyme disease symptoms that persist for at least six months after completing initial treatment results in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS). 

‘Symptoms may persist for months or years after treatment of Lyme,’ Dr Brancato said. 

‘The cause of persistent nonspecific symptoms after treatment for Lyme disease remains uncertain.’  

Treatment for PTLDS depends on the patient’s symptoms and any complications they may have received, including anemia, thyroid deficiencies, carpal tunnel syndrome, vitamin deficiencies, or autoimmune diseases. 

Hadid posted an image on Instagram of results from a 2016 urine sample. The results listed eight microbes that were detected in the sample, suggesting she’s had multiple infections at the same time.

Treating other infections can involve antibiotic therapy, though some microbes are resistant to these medications. 

‘The best way to prevent co-infections is [to] use tick repellants containing DEET or permethrin, wear white clothing so ticks can be seen, placing clothes in dryers after outdoor activities and shower shortly after coming indoors,’ Dr Brancato said.

In another image, she appears to be getting an electrocardiogram, a test used to measure heart rhythm. This suggests that she could have an irregular heart rhythm or other cardiac issues. 

It’s unclear what additional complications Hadid may have had or what symptoms she has experienced. Her treatment could have involved symptom management, including medications to help with pain and fatigue, or it could have been to treat other conditions. 

In photos posted to her Instagram, she appears to have a port in her arm, which is used to make frequent blood draws and intravenous medications easier to administer. This suggests that she requires one or both of those interventions. 

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks.

It’s transmitted by black-legged ticks carrying either the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi or, more rarely, Borrelia mayonii. 

Ticks carrying this bacteria live in most states within the US, but they are most common in the upper Midwest, northeastern, and mid-Atlantic states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

It’s the most common vector-borne (a disease caused by blood-feeding organisms like ticks, mosquitos, and fleas) in the US. A study published earlier this year in the journal BMJ Global Health found that 14 percent of the world’s population could have been infected with the disease. 

There are 35,000 cases reported every year in the US, however the CDC estimates the actual number could be closer to 476,000. 

A bullseye-shaped rash, also known as an erythema migrans (EM) rash, is one of the earliest and most obvious signs. 

As it expands, the mark can reach up to 12 inches or more. It is rarely itchy or painful, but it may feel warm to the touch. 

This rash can last anywhere from three to 30 days and occurs in 70 to 80 percent of Lyme disease patients.

Other early symptoms include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, joint stiffness, muscle aches and pains, and swollen lymph nodes, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

If the condition progresses, it can cause rashes all over the body, neck pain or stiffness, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeats, pain or numbness in the hands or feet, swelling in tissues of the eye or eyelid, and vision loss.

About one in 10 people with the condition develop Lyme arthritis, which happens when the disease gets into connective tissue in the joints, leading to symptoms similar to arthritis, including swollen joints that are warm to the touch.  

A recent survey of over 3,000 chronic Lyme patients found that patients have a worse quality of life than those with other chronic illnesses, including congestive heart failure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. 

Additionally, more than 70 percent of patients with chronic Lyme disease reported fair or poor health. 

Though Hadid is undergoing intense treatment, she remains optimistic. 

‘One thing I want to express to you all is that 1: I am okay and you do not have to worry, and 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world,’ she said. 

‘If I had to go through all of this again, to get here, to this exact moment I’m in right now, with all of you, finally healthy, I would do it all again. It made me who I am today

“I have so much gratitude for and perspective on life, this 100+ days of Lyme, chronic disease, co-infection treatment, almost 15 years of invisible suffering, was all worth it if I’m able to, God willing, have a lifetime of spreading love from a full cup, and being able to truly be myself, for the first time ever.’

‘I’ll be back when I’m ready. I miss you all so much. I love you all so much.’ 

A doctor has explained the risks the killer hornet can pose to the human body –  amid fresh sightings of the terrifying creature in the UK. 

Fears of a potential invasion have grown since the Asian hornet was discovered in Plymouth last Sunday. 

The sightings prompted an official warning for the public to be ‘on guard’ to help prevent the spread of the species.  

Since 2016, there have been a total of 28 sightings in the UK, and five are confirmed to have happened this year. The figure includes a total of 14 nests, which were all destroyed, according to the government website. 

Posting to his TikTok account, Dr Karan Raj warned of the potential dangers the critter can cause – and how one sting could be fatal to the human body. 

The Asian hornet has a quarter inch stinger, and, according to Dr Raj: ‘Can inject a venom called mandarotoxin, which is a neurotoxin and affects the nervous system.’ 

The doctor explained that this can cause temporary paralysis and a loss of sensation in the place where you are stung.  

The doctor continued: ‘It is also a necrotoxin, which means it can cause cell death and, to someone who is allergic to the venom it can be lethal.’

He added that those who are allergic to the sting can suffer from anaphylactic shock which may result in swelling of the eyes, mouth and throat. 

It may also lead to severe breathing problems and a sharp drop in blood pressure, which could result in cardiac arrest.  

Dr Raj said: ‘The venom from multiple stings can cause kidney failure, which can eventually result in multi-organ failure. 

While the Asian hornet has not killed any people in the UK this year, the killer creature reportedly causes 30 to 50 deaths per year in Japan. 

The doctor also highlighted that the Asian hornets are a threat to the honeybee population in the UK. 

Since it was posted, the video has received over 66,000 likes and Dr Raj has had hundreds of comments from terrified TikTokers. 

One user wrote: ‘Petition for them to go extinct,’ another said: ‘Yiiikess.’

Another claimed: ‘I got stung by one and couldn’t walk on my right leg for three days.’

Insect experts have also warned of the threat of the killer hornets to bees, and are now calling on the public to report any sightings.

Asian hornets, which are smaller than the UK’s native hornets, prey on honeybees and therefore pose a major threat to honeybee populations. 

The experts from DEFRA, warned people not to approach any potential nests due to the dangers the black and yellow hornets pose.

According to Defra’s Chief Plant and Bee Health Officer Nicola Spencer, Asian hornets do not generally pose any more of a threat to humans than native British wasps or hornets, but show aggression if their nests are disturbed. 

The Natural History Museum also warns that the hornet can inject more venom per sting, it said: ‘The stinger is long enough to puncture thick, protective clothing, such as the kind normally worn by beekeepers.’

What makes them more lethal, the website explained, is that they will recruit other hornets and attack as a group. 

The quality of venom that can be injected through multiple stings can be dangerous to young children and those with existing health conditions. 

Think you know how to poo? Think again.

For our modern toilet-habits could be preventing us from properly emptying our bowels, one top medic has revealed.

According to Dorset-based NHS surgeon Dr Karan Rajan, sitting on the loo can cause your colon to kink, leaving you straining. 

Instead, leaning forwards and squatting, creates ‘a smoother exit’.

Dropping the bombshell on TikTok, in a video watched almost 150,000 times, he advised: ‘Focus on the angles, particularly the angle between your abdomen and your thighs. Make this as small as possible.’

He added: ‘You can reduce this thigh torso angle by leaning forwards when you unleash the brown kraken.

‘Combine this with raising your heels so you’re leaning on the balls of your feet. 

‘This puts you into slight hip flexion and gets your knees slightly above your hips.’

Alternatively, to achieve the slight elevation, feet could be rested on a rolled up towel, he suggested. 

‘This combo move unlocks an important skill,’ he added, sharing animations demonstrating the technique. 

‘The puborectalis — the muscle that wraps around the rectum — is now relaxed, causing the rectum to straighten, and giving you a smoother exit,’ he said. 

Research has also suggested that squatting is a superior technique in help empty the bowels. 

According to a 2012 study published in the journal, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, those who squatted on a 12-inch toilet took an average of 51 seconds to release their bowels.

Meanwhile, those who sat recorded an average time of 130 seconds. 

In 2019, researchers from The Ohio State University in the US also discovered that using a bathroom stool could help. 

Analysing more than 1,000 bowel movements, the researchers found 90 per cent of people who used defecation postural modification devices — known as Squatty Potty’s — strained less, with 71 per cent reporting faster bowel movements. 

Fewer users also reported feeling like they still had to go after using the bathroom.

Normal bowel habits vary from person to person, the NHS advises. 

But you should not pass less than three stools per week or more than three per day, it adds. 

Stools should also ‘be soft and easy to pass’, the health service adds. 

It comes as the biggest ever study into Britain’s bowel habits revealed in April that one in 400 Brits poo less than once a week.

Breaking down the UK’s toilet habits, it found 13 per cent of people suffer so much with their bowel and gut health that it affects their day-to-day life.

Another stark figure showed almost a quarter of women are constipated (23 per cent), compared to just 13 per cent of men.