A BANNED doctor worked illegally in seven hospitals and treated 3,000 patients after stealing a British medic’s identity.

    Levon Mkhitarian, from Georgia, posed as a qualified doctor, allowing him to treat thousands of patients across the U.K.

    Despite having being struck off by the General Medical Council, he fraudulently identified himself as an existing doctor from Thanet, Kent, using fake bank statements, a CV and bills — allowing him to start work at a Kent hospital in 2013.

    By the time he was caught, he had treated British patients for two and a half years, and was registered as a locum doctor with a RMR Recruitment agency.

    The serial offender was only caught in April 2014 when an application for a staff pass at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford triggered a warning that the name was already registered.

    When confronted, Mkhitarian told staff he was visiting his father in hospital.

    A quick check by officials soon found no such patient existed.

    Mkhitarian, 36, never completed formal training allowing him to practice in the U.K. and has now pleaded guilty to 22 offenses including deception and fraud.

    Critics said the cases raised serious questions about the checks done on NHS locums.

    Peter Walsh from patient charity Action against Medical Accidents said the case proved the NHS “should not rely on agencies.”

    NHS officials found he had worked as a GP in the hospital’s cardiology department and as a senior house officer.

    He also accepted senior roles in Taunton, Crewe, Oxford and Harrow despite not having the necessary qualifications, prompting the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service to strike him off the register last year.

    (SD-Agencies)