'Lazy' doctor told to pay NUH £20,000 after racism claim dismissed

The doctor was described as 'belligerent' and reportedly went missing during shifts for between two and four hours

A "lazy" doctor has been ordered to pay £20,000 to the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) after complaints that they racially discriminated against him were thrown out. Dr Christopher Oyediran was the subject of several complaints from colleagues while he worked in Nottingham, reportedly disappearing for between two and four hours on a shift.

Challenged on one occasion about his repeated absences, Dr Oyediran reportedly said: "What's this all about, for God's sake I have only gone for a coffee". Dr Oyediran, 36, was employed by NUH between 2013 and 2017, before returning as a locum doctor in 2020 at the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital.

The doctor went off sick in December 2021 after the complaints against him mounted, having gone through an appraisal hearing that same month. Dr Oyediran told bosses that it would probably be best if he were to "move on" from NUH.

Yet the doctor's solicitor made contact with NUH in February 2022 to bring forward claims of whistleblowing, race discrimination and failure to make adjustments to his ADHD. Those claims have now been thrown out after an employment tribunal earlier this year, which has ordered Dr Oyediran to pay £20,000 of NUH's legal costs.

The tribunal hearings heard from colleagues of Dr Oyediran, one of whom described him as "extraordinarily lazy, sitting at the desk on his phone for the majority of the shift and doing minimal work." The doctor was also described as "belligerent", with the tribunal hearing from one witness who said: "He does not take initiative well at work, gets aggressive when approached and disappears on almost every shift for two to four hours with no reason.

"I have been approached by several tearful nurses reporting him refusing him to do simple tasks like ECG (electrocardiogram) signing." Employment Judge Michael Butler concluded: "It is our view that there is no evidence at all that race played any part in [NUH]'s decision to cancel his shifts pending an investigation into the complaints against him.

"Indeed, we cannot find that there was even a remote possibility that the decision made by [NUH] was based on [Dr Oyediran]'s race. The claim of direct race discrimination must fail."