Dr Keith Wolverson: Petition launched to 'save' doctor who asked patient to remove niqab

A petition to “save the reputation” of a doctor who asked a Muslim woman to remove her veil so he could hear her during a consultation has been signed by more than 2,000 people.

Dr Keith Wolverson, a GP who has been in medicine for 23 years, last week received a letter from the General Medical Council (GMC) telling him his conduct was under investigation.

He told the Mail on Sunday he was “deeply” upset at being accused of racial discrimination over the incident and no longer had any interest in working in the profession.

A petition started two days ago by a person named Peri Morgan is calling for Dr Wolverson to be treated fairly by the GMC. On Monday morning it was 100 signatures away from its target of 2,500.

“I would like to get as many people as possible to sign this petition and save this mans reputation,” they wrote.

“I believe he acted in the best interest of the child involved and their was no racist or religious discrimination in his actions. We need to ensure the General Medical Council treat this man fairly and look at all the evidence.

“Our NHS is severely understaffed and we cannot afford to lose doctors due to fabricated accusations of discrimination.”

The situation arose last year when he asked a woman to lift her niqab, a face covering garment worn by some Muslim women, which he claims he did politely and was so he could communicate with her better while trying to diagnose the woman's daughter.

Dr Wolverson said his “quest to perform the very finest consultation for the safety of the patient has been misinterpreted in a duplicitous manner to suggest there has been an act of racism committed”.

He said the woman was speaking to him about her daughter, who she feared had tonsillitis, and he asked her to move the veil so he could hear her more clearly.

He claims she did so with no complaint during the consultation at Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent last June.

However, he said the woman's husband arrived later and said he would be making a complaint.

A spokesman for the Doctors' Association UK told the Mail on Sunday: "It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected.

"However, evidently there are some circumstances where removal of a niqab or burqa is necessary for medical assessment and treatment.

"The GMC should consider issuing clear guidelines to protect both doctors and our patients."